Under the Sea
by 999nomead
Summary: Chapter 18: The Chaperone. Under Mr. Krabs' orders, SpongeBob has to accompany Pearl to the prom at her high school. Unfortunately, four students are going to ruin the party for everybody. A novelization of the SpongeBob SquarePants TV show.
1. Arc 1: Help Wanted

**Arc 1**

**Chapter 1: Help Wanted**

* * *

The sun rose through the shrouds of the oceanic abyss.

It's rays glinted off the floor of the ocean.

The sea was teeming with rich, diverse, anthropomorphic sea creatures.

The light of morning seemed to shine the most on an underwater town called Bikini Bottom.

The residents began to stir from their slumber and began to go out to their daily jobs.

The town restored it's status as active after the activity of the night.

Footsteps.

S-S-S-S-S

Stomps.

An octopus known as Squidward walked along the street in a sour mood, in his signature deadpan face. One of his tentacles was holding a certain hat that was considered employee uniform to a certain restaurant. He had poor fashion sense with a plain brown shirt as his casual wear, although he views such clothing in a polar opposite light. His opinions and talents are far more superior in his eyes but he can not escape reality. People don't like him and Squidward constantly rants and put them down when they shine, appropriate punishment for being unappreciated.

However, he carries much intelligence.

He knew as of now that his job of working as a cashier in the most popular fast-food restaurant in the sea, the Krusty Krab, was a choice of desperation out of unemployment. He knows he's constantly unhappy with the job, obtaining money and putting it in the cash register instead of in his wallet.

Another microstep in the long journey to escaping the Krusty Krab and entering success.

*Sigh*

"Another day of this insanity in that dull and unartistic dump they call a fast-food restaurant."

He kept walking until he stopped at the front door of the dining establishment.

'Let's get this over with.'

He turned around and faced the distant horizon, at the same time he put on his employee hat which had the trademark anchor.

Squidward folded his arms and waited for his boss.

The establishment behind him is in a state of very poor condition. Years of questionable business practices leaned it's ugly head for all to see. The building looked like a century-old lobster trap but it was designed like that on purpose before it became a restaurant. The wood was very frail and it could be a matter of seconds before another repair was needed on the ceiling or floor, both were covered entirely in the ancient wood. Glass covered the front, left, and right sides of the restaurant, several tables in the shape of steering wheels used for ships and barrels for seats could be observable.

An opened clam sign on a stick said 'The Krusty Krab' in red paint.

The place screamed cheap, the boss himself was a retired pirate.

Then, the sound of scrambling crab feet became subtly louder every second.

Squidward looked up to see a silouhette beyond the horizon.

"Mr. Krabs, as always..."

9:00 AM was just around the corner.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

"Ahoy there Squidward!"

Mr. Krabs walked to Squidward and saluted him in such a manner as a pirate would do.

Squidward rolled his eyes, he seemed bored.

"Hi." Squidward replied with the enthusiasm of a robot.

Mr. Krabs was a crimson crustaceon. With pointy eyes sticking out of a hardened, aged shell and claws that would prove very useful in combat, he was in his mid-life years. Years of being in the pirate business lead to infinite amounts of experience in the subtle ways of ripping people off their money and long stories of such schemes he could tell. His clothes seemed a bit old and out of date, a prime indicator of his personality. Ever since he was a child he was fascinated by money and swam in greed. Looting treasure and saving money gave him a satisfaction that only people with extreme avarice could desire. His needs for material wealth lead to him constantly save his money, the fear of being poor was too great. The prices of food in the Krusty Krab was enough of an early warning of such behavior.

Mr. Krabs tries to pursue goals in life with endless determination, even if they are related to greed.

Mr. Krabs was in a cheerful mood and was grasping the keys to the entrance of the Krusty Krab. Fantasizing his potential profits for the day.

A golden key glistened in the sunglight, swaying in Mr. Krabs' claws.

He inserted it in the keyhole and unlocked the door.

CREEEAAAAAK

The door slowly opened.

Mr. Krabs immediately walked in and flipped the sign behind the door from CLOSED to OPEN.

He took a deep breath, he came to enjoy the smell of grease that bombarded his nostrils.

Mr. Krabs smiled.

"Another day of money!"

He walked to his office and shut the door.

Squidward groaned and walked slowly to the cash register. The machine itself was on top of an old boat, once again fitting the charming theme of 'cheap' to the restaurant.

Squidward sat down and took out a book to read, attempting to outlast the burden of waiting for customers.

The environment became still and silent, a relief to Squidward.

'Way better than cooking at the grill.'

He thought to himself rightfully so. He was the only employee in the restaurant, giving him dual status as fry cook and cashier. He preferred cashier due to his poor cooking skills and the simplicity of the role.

S-S-S-S-S

'Thirty, Thirty One, Thirty Two..."

Mr. Krabs counted yesterday's profits with enjoyment, he was in his office. There were a few seats, a desk, and the knooks and crannies he leaves his money in.

He was considering the specific chores and special duties Squidward would partake for the time being.

"It's been two months since the glass outside was washed, gotta show my ship with pride."

He then abruptly put his money in his desk and opened the door, double-checking how clean the glass was.

He saw graffiti on the glass, a sneaky vandal must have done that during the night.

*gasp*

'Not on my watch.'

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward noticed Mr. Krabs eyeing the windows.

'Oh boy.'

"Squidward! Go fetch a towel and bucket and clean that graffiti on the double!"

He shut the door and returned to his money.

Squidward got up and opened the door to the neatly-organized kitchen.

He grabbed a bucket and poured it with water from the sink.

He grabbed towels from a table.

Marching back to the main room Squidward was prepared to wash off the grime.

In the middle of his march to the doorway, an eery prediction entered his mind when he saw the 'help wanted' sign through the window.

He stopped in the middle of his walk.

'Hmmm...'

"Do I hear any washing? Get back to work!" Mr. Krabs muffled voice echoed throughout the building.

'Never mind, it's highly unlikely...'

*groan*

Squidward seemed mildly annoyed.

S-S-S-S-S

He opened the doors and gently slid out to the outside world.

Taking precaution that his bucket of water won't spill.

Squidward dropped the bucket to the floor.

The graffiti said 'LOSER' with Squidward's face on it.

"Oh Neptune do I hate doing this."

He put a towel in the water and began rinsing the graffiti.

With a steady pace he withered down the air paint.

After putting some effort in the force of his brushes, the stains finally gave way.

The deed was done.

He wiped his brow.

"Phew."

A gentle breeze coursed through his body.

Squidward relaxed and smiled at the fact he can now go back to his reading.

Until a sudden shadow could be seen at the edge of the horizon through the reflection of a window.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes earlier...

S-S-S-S-S

A snail slept peacefully,

under a pineapple under the sea.

The room he was in was an odd spectacle (let alone the house). With strange furniture such as a foghorn alarm, triple matress bed, and a treasure tchest scattered across the room. Many other rooms would definitely fit the theme of weirdness.

The snail himself was sleeping on newspapers.

Until...

**HOOOONK! HOOOONK!**

CLICK

A square yellow sponge immediately jumped into action and shut the foghorn off.

He yawned.

This youth is known as SpongeBob. He is one who yearns for life. Always finding the positive out of the negative, the good out of the evil. As you can tell by his usual facial expressions he has an optimistic view on life. In his mind and heart, he is Peter Pan. The eternal youth. He lacks much in maturity and decides to act on impulse, which can lead him to becoming annoying. However, he never means to annoy someone on purpose to begin with. He acts selfless to the people around him and that itself is a redeeming quality. At the end of the day he always has to fix what he has done to others and find some way to make up for it.

SpongeBob stepped out of his bed, in his underwear.

The snail was wide awake, drowziness filled his eyes. Grumpiness filled his mind.

He looked at SpongeBob.

"Todays the big day, Gary!" SpongeBob had a wide smile on his face.

"Meow." Gary nearly droned.

SpongeBob immediately climbed on a ladder on his bed.

Like a squirrel climbing on a tree he reached the top with breakneck speeds.

SpongeBob was jumping on a diving board with enthusiasm.

"Look at me, I'm-"

He made a huge jump and soared up like a rocket.

The force to the jump was strong enough to pull his underpants off.

"Naked!"

SpongeBob then locked on target and dove to a certain part of the floor.

He flew like a missile.

Disaster was looming around the corner.

Gary showed signs of concern as SpongeBob succumbed to gravity.

Plop!

He landed on his hanged clothes with sniper precision.

His face emerged from the clothes. He was in his casual attire of a red tie, white shirt, and brown pants with a belt. Topping it all off with shiny black shoes.

"Got to be in top physcial condition for today, Gary."

"Meow."

He bolted to a door, twisted it open, and slid down a slide at the speed of a bullet. He was in a massive library where shelves of books and ladders reached to the glass ceiling.

SpongeBob ran down to an entrance of a dark hallway, once he got midway through he immediately turned right and faced another door.

He quickly opened it and ran in, more out of fear of the dark than urgency.

'Better put a nightlight there next time.'

He ran into a mini gym. However, it seemed to be of the type used in kintergarden. A banner that said 'I Love Pain' hanged on the wall. There was a blue mat in the center of the room with a barbell balanced by animal dolls that were light in weight. Other goofy equipment was organized neatly throughout the room.

SpongeBob wasn't an athlete in terms of physical strength.

He took a deep breath and faced the challenge awaiting him.

He walked to the center and eyed the barbell.

He took a few more deep breaths to prevent too much anxiety from escaping, it would only hinder his physical performance.

He sticked out his chest.

Gary peeked from the door, panting and sweating as if he just did an exercise regiment of his own. All the snail did was simply catching up with SpongeBob.

Spongebob gripped the barbell tightly.

'I can do this.'

'I can do this.'

'I can do this.'

"RRRRGH!"

With all the strength he can muster from his muscles, he tried to lift it up.

Arteries showed in his face.

His face contorted in concentration.

Sweat ran down his brow.

The barbell was lifted by two inches.

**SQUEAK**!

The barbell was dropped on the floor.

A deep sigh from SpongeBob.

A pause.

"I'M READY!" SpongeBob yelled.

He dashed back out of the hallway at blinding speeds.

Everything was a blur.

He dashed through the kitchen

Through the living room.

He opened a door.

He was outside standing on his front lawn.

He took another deep breath.

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

While he was chanting his announcement he was running down the street.

He was facing forward and was confident at where he was going.

He passed a certain rock.

S-S-S-S-S

A chubby pink sea star was sleeping comfortably in a bed.

The room was very dim.

Strangely, all the furniture including the bed were made out of sand.

A dark brown, circular surface was the ceiling.

This person mostly lives under a rock,

an odd and not very bright choice for a home.

Everything was peacefully silent except for the snoring coming from the sea star.

Until...

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

A muffled scream could be heard outside.

The sea star's eyes flung open.

He yawned.

He took off the sand blanket.

He apparently was only wearing light green shorts with purple flowers on them.

He walked quickly to the center of the living room.

He crouched down...

and jumped hard to the ceiling.

CREEEAAAK

The rock flew open.

The sea star was stuck to the rock on the way up.

He could see SpongeBob, his best friend, go off down the street towards a particular fast-food restaurant.

"Go SpongeBob!" He cheered.

He then slowly teetered off the rock...

"Whoa!"

and collapsed to the floor.

The rock closed above him.

The sea star is well known for his lack of intelligence. This however never prevents him from having sudden bursts of enlightenment, his I. Q. varies wildly in certain spans of time. His absolute lack of manners only makes circumstances worse. However, this gives him a relaxed attitude since his ignorance gives him bliss and gives him the groundwork for thinking things through (if he's lucky). The sea star constantly idles around his home and is unemployed, getting money from his parents.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stopped running.

He stood still and marveled what was in front of him.

He saw the Krusty Krab in all of it's glory. Sparkling before his eyes like the gates of heaven.

"There it is. The finest eating establishment ever established for eating. The Krusty Krab, home of the Krabby Patty. With a 'help wanted' sign on the window! For years I've been dreaming of this moment! I'm gonna go in there, march straight to the manager, look im straight in the eye-"

SpongeBob narrowed his eyes.

"Lay it on the line and..."

Suddenly SpongeBob realized the likelihood of being hired. The majestic look of the Krusty Krab didn't help as it made the intimidation far worse. He was only 22 years old, he just finished college, and did plenty of odd jobs after that. This was the only reason he could afford a decent home. Unlike many people, SpongeBob just couldn't find his talent and he doesn't even know his own capabilities. He probably won't be hired since the boss might think he is one of those people who lounge around and do nothing all day like Squidward (SpongeBob clearly knew Squidward worked there).

"I can't do this!"

He slowly turned around with a disappointed face.

He looked at the ground as he walked away, forgetting employment until he can brush up on his skills so as to experience that special moment later on.

It wasn't impossible.

Suddenly he collided into a large pink belly.

He looked up.

"Uh, Patrick!"

For sure, the sea star was there. His arms were crossed and his brow was raised.

"Where do you think you're going?" Patrick stated in a stern voice.

"I was just-"

"No you're not. You're going to the Krusty Krab and get that job!"

SpongeBob paused a bit to collect his words.

"I can't, don't you see? I'm not good enough!"

Patrick kept a firm look at SpongeBob as he leaned in and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Buddy, I know you can do it. C'mon, you only live once."

SpongeBob futilely tried to turn around, once he did so he took a step with wobbly legs.

He then immediately turned to face back at Patrick, still too hesitant to take action.

SpongeBob sighed.

He looked at the ground, not giving eye contact.

He frowned.

"This isn't the SpongeBob I know! He would've tried and at least see some sunshine in the end."

It was a miracle, Patrick had a surge of inner wisdom.

"Ever since high school you said you wanted to work at the Krusty Krab. You got excited every time you saw it, thinking of what you could do if you worked there. You worked hard through school so as to have that special hat on your head."

A pause.

"Buddy, this is your chance. Take it."

SpongeBob felt pressure the magnitude of that of the bottom of the ocean if he was a land dweller. His limbs shook violent like they were experiencing mini-earthquakes. Sweat ran down his face.

His mind shut down and it was now only fight or flight.

SpongeBob was about to take the 'flight' decision until he realized Patrick was stil standing there.

"Then I have to get it out of you." Patrick smiled. "Whose first words were 'May I take your order'?"

A light bulb in SpongeBob's head lit up.

"M-mine were..."

"Who made a spatula out of toothpicks in the wood shop?"

The memories surged through SpongeBob.

"I did." He stood resolute, courage began to envelop him.

Patrick was about to say something...

but had a brain fart.

His intelligence returned to that of an idiot.

Patrick's face visibly contorted as he searched through his mental library to find another thing to say to encourage SpongeBob.

"Who's a, uh, who's uhh."

SpongeBob looked confused and surprised.

Patrick found the right words.

'Aha!' "Oh! Who's a big yellow cube with holes?"

"I am!" SpongeBob smiled and spoke with enthusiasm.

"Who's ready?"

"I'm ready!"

"Who's ready?"

"I'M ready!"

"Who's ready?"

"I'M READY!"

Patrick's 'counseling' worked like a charm.

SpongeBob took a deep inhale and began his chant once more.

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

While doing that, he ran straight towards the Krusty Krab with determination.

It wasn't so far away now.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward turned around and focused on the approaching shadow in the horizon.

He winced when he heard the faint chant of a particular voice which belonged to a certain abomination.

Only one thing stood out in his mind.

He groaned.

"Oh no, SpongeBob. What could he possibly want?"

The voice became more clear as the yellow sponge became further visible.

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"GO SPONGEBOB!"

"GO SPONGEBOB!"

"GO SPONGEBOB!"

"GO SELF!"

Squidward tried to figure out why SpongeBob was running towards the Krusty Krab.

He turned around and saw the pleasant 'help wanted' sign.

He then thought of his most horrifying nightmare coming true.

SpongeBob would work alongside him in the Krusty Krab.

His prediction might possibly become reality.

His heart beat went up exponentially.

A sweatdrop ran across his face.

'Oh no. Oh Neptune no...'

He had to take action.

He opened the entrance to the Krusty Krab with fury and ran inside at top speeds.

He knew one person to contact.

S-S-S-S-S

"MR. KRABS!"

Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs was pleasantly sniffing his money. He wanted to keep a good eye on Squidward so he looked out through the ordering window which was right behind the cash register.

Mr. Krabs jumped at the sound of Squidward's screaming.

Squidward stopped right in front of him.

"Hurry Mr. Krabs, before it's too late, I gotta tell you about-"

**SLAM**!

The doors flew open.

"Permission to come aboard, captain!" SpongeBob stated with a booming voice.

Squidward slowly and steadily turned his head in horror.

Mr. Krabs went wide-eyed.

"I've been training my whole life for the day I could join the Krusty Krew..."

A pause.

"And now I'm ready."

SpongeBob took a step forward slowly as if he just landed on the moon.

Right before his shoe touched the floor, his shoe made contact with a loose nail sticking out of the ancient floorboards.

He tripped.

'Uh oh.' SpongeBob thought.

He collapsed face-first to the floor.

As he did that Squidward and Mr. Krabs watched him with extra attention.

SpongeBob's absorbent skin absorbed the fall.

He then abruptly bounced up to the ceiling.

**CRASH**

GROAAN

The wood of the ceiling shook from the vibrations.

After sticking on the ceiling for a few seconds SpongeBob once again fell back to earth.

Once he touched the ground he immediately bounced to a window and then to the adjacent one.

All hell broke loose.

He bounced from tables, barrels, a pole, a few doors, the floor again, and nearly hit Mr. Krabs.

A gasp escaped from Mr. Krabs.

Squidward jumped to the boat and Mr. Krabs followed suit.

Their eyes peered beyond the edge of the wooden boat and carefully watched the rest of the chaos unfold.

As that happened the building shook violently from constantly getting hit by SpongeBob.

Eventually, SpongeBob decelerated each consequtive bounce.

He hit the floor and spun like a spinning top.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs stood from where they hid and walked close to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob stopped spinning and laid there on the floor.

"Heh heh. Oops." He smiled. "So, uh, where do I start?"

Mr. Krabs sighed. "Well lad, it looks like you don't even have your sea legs."

SpongeBob recognized who he was talking to. "Mr. Krabs please, I'll prove I'm fry cook material. Ask Squidward, he'll vouch for me." He then looked at Squidward, his apparent 'friend', with hope.

Mr. Krabs and Squidward briskly walked away from SpongeBob.

The faced each other and looked like they were about to begin a long conversation that would determine the fate of SpongeBob's career.

Squidward took a deep breath. "No." He smiled.

Mr. Krabs winked.

They were about to pull off a cruel scheme on SpongeBob.

They quickly walked back to SpongeBob.

"Well lad, I'll give you a test, and if you pass, you'll be in the Krusty Krew!" Mr. Krabs smirked.

SpongeBob stood up and paid attention.

"Go out and fetch me..."

SpongeBob took out a notepad from his pocket and prepared a pencil, ready to write down anything.

Mr. Krabs thought of the most ridiculous things to scavenge.

"A, uh, hydrodynamic spatula..."

SpongeBob wrote as fast as possible.

"With um, port-and-starboard attachments..."

Intense scribbling from the sponge.

"And, uh...turbo drive!"

SpongeBob jotted down the last of the notes.

"And don't come back til you get one!"

Mr. Krabs searched through his pockets until he found an employee hat.

Time froze as SpongeBob witnessed Mr. Krabs putting a hat on top of his head.

It sparkled, it was brand new.

SpongeBob took out a mirror and looked at his reflection.

He marveled at how perfect the hat looked being worn by him.

He put the mirror away and made a wide grin.

"Aye, aye captain!" SpongeBob made a military salute.

SpongeBob read his notes while speaking.

"One hydrodynamic spatula, with port-and-starboard attachments, turbo drive, coming right up sir!"

"Carry on." Mr. Krabs waved.

SpongeBob turned around and headed out the door with enthusiasm and excitement.

He felt as if he was knighted.

SpongeBob ran as fast as a bullet and could no longer be seen through the horizon.

"We'll never see him again." Mr. Krabs turned to face Squidward. He felt relief.

"You're terrible. A hydro-what?"

Mr. Krabs made a deep pirate laugh while Squidward laughed by his nose honking.

Soon it ended.

"Alright. Back to work." Mr. Krabs made a command and then continued to sniff his money.

Squidward sat in the boat and continued to read his book.

Unknown to them, a threat was brewing on the horizon.

S-S-S-S-S

Some time later.

S-S-S-S-S

A group of buses were driving down a road.

They drove past a sign that said 'Bikini Bottom'.

The buses were driving at high speeds that were exactly the speed limit.

Inside them sat hordes of hungry anchovies.

Making hundreds of meeps every second.

The group of anchovies all gathered to have potentially the biggest feast they've had in a long time.

Before they knew it, the buses were in downtown Bikini Bottom.

A few honks from other boatmobiles could be heard as the buses swerved left and right.

The drivers were desperate to get those meeping demons off the bus.

The discord reached a breaking point.

"Hey! Hey! Please! Passengers are to stay seated and put their hands out the window!" One of the extremely irritated drivers shouted.

The anchovies reeked of ignorance and were stubborn to behave.

The driver groaned.

The buses passed by a few more businesses until they found their target.

The driver smiled as he finally saw his destination over the horizon.

Soon he would be spared of hearing those accursed meeps.

The Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

The very faint sound of a meep could be heard.

At that moment Mr. Krabs stopped sniffing his money,

He put the money back in his wallet.

His eyes narrowed.

He peered carefully around the Krusty Krab.

As if trying to find the source of the meep

Squidward was still deeply absorbed into his novel. His feet were on the cash register.

Mr. Krabs ran to the windows.

He watched the rapidly incoming silhouettes of autobuses like a hawk.

S-S-S-S-S

The drivers prepared themselves for the rapidly incoming figure that was the Krusty Krab.

Once they were a few feet away from the building they took a vicious swerve to the left.

**SCREEEECH**

The anchovies fell from their seats and landed in piles on the floor. They made meeps of surprise.

The five buses parked around the perimeter of the Krusty Krab.

The doors opened abruptly.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs heard the sound of the doors opening.

His eyes popped open.

"That sounded like hatched doors!"

Squidward jumped from his seat and saw the buses parked outside.

He put down his book and became irritated. He crossed his arms as he impatiently waited for the customers.

Before long a strange scent wafted in the air.

Mr. Krabs was familiar with the smell.

He made several sniffs.

"Do you smell it? That smell. A kind of smelly smell. A smelly smell that smells smelly."

Mr. Krabs watched as an anchovy got off the bus and take a step outside.

"What?" Squidward replied grumpily.

"ANCHOVIES!"

As if on cue hordes of anchovies in the hundreds burst through the buses.

In a single mass they overwhelmed the doors to the Krusty Krab and exploded into the interior.

**SLAM**

A flash flood of anchovies spilled over the room.

Meeps to the point of deafness resounded throughout the restaurant.

Mr. Krabs and Squidward camped out in the boat of the cash register.

"Please, please, quiet!" Squidward shouted with an artery on his forehead. He was exhausted from hearing the meeping.

It could be heard throughout the room and was louder than the meeps.

Miraculously the anchovies suddenly became silent.

They slowly turned around and faced Squidward.

"Is this any way to behave, hmmm?"

One anchovy was brave enough to say a meep.

"Could we show a little decency and form a neat, single file line in front of the register?"

The anchovies stared at Squidward for a long and painful minute.

The meeps resurfaced and escalated to higher volumes...

as they ran and charged to the boat.

The enraged anchovies picked up the boat.

Squidward gasped.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob ran throughout Bikini Bottom.

Tall buildings flew past him and he made sure to steer clear of pedestrians.

'I think I know a place.' A light bulb lit up.

He was searching throughout Bikini Bottom for the item Mr. Krabs asked.

So far he had no success.

He took a sharp turn to the right and he was running through a parking lot.

Soon he skidded to a halt.

In front of him was a supermarket in the shape of a treasure chest. A sign above the entrance said 'Barg'n-Mart'. A skull and crossbones stood below it.

His idea was about to be put to the test.

He walked inside.

He grabbed a shopping cart and dived into the several isles.

Not too many people were around to shop so it was easy to navigate.

"Barg'N-Mart, meeting all of your spatula needs."

He sang as he walked between isles.

After a few minutes of roaming, so far there wasn't a single high-tech spatula in sight.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward and Mr. Krabs tumbled within the boat as it was being tossed around by the anchovies.

They were sailing through rough anchovies waters.

"All hands on deck! Get your anchors out of your pants!" Mr. Krabs shouted in desperation. Trying to sound louder than the constant meeps.

"One single file line was all I asked!" Squidward said as he nearly fell off the boat.

Suddenly they flew into the air as their feet no longer touched the boat.

They were aware that the anchovies would tear them to spreads if they landed on the floor.

"Whoa! Batten down the hatches, Mr. Squidward!"

They collided back to the boat.

A pause.

The anchovies lifted them off the boat once again.

Putting more force into the push.

"We're taking on water, Mr. Squidward!"

They nearly touched the ceiling.

They crashed down to the boat.

They nearly tumbled from the force of the impact.

"I want my mommy, Mr. Squidward!"

They displayed faces of anxiety as they dreaded their next flight into the air.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was walking down the last isle.

The products were kitchen utensils and appliances.

"Do do do do do do, spatula, spatula, port-and-starboard attachments." He continued to sing.

There was a slight shine while looking through the left shelf.

At close inspection...

*gasp*

The object was in his hands.

It was a hydrodynamic spatula. Fortunately the last one available.

He tossed it quickly inside the cart.

'Gotta make this quick.'

SpongeBob backed up the cart.

After a few seconds he pushed the cart.

He jumped and sat on the edge of the cart.

He rode it all the way to the registers.

Fortunately, no one was in the way as he speeded through the 'go-kart'.

The cart decelerated as SpongeBob browsed through the waiting lines.

He found one register with only a few people.

SCREECH

SpongeBob regained control of the cart.

Then he waited...

And waited...

And waited...

And waited...

Took a few steps.

And waited...

And waited...

And waited...

And waited...

The anxiety was killing him.

And waited...

Took a few steps.

Sweat ran down his face.

Excitement overflowed in his mind,

And waited...

And waited...

And waited...

"Um, sir..."

SpongeBob jumped.

There was no one in front of him.

"Yeah, yeah, right. Heheh." SpongeBob made a nervous smile.

He gave the spatula to the cashier.

After scanning the object and determining the price.

"That would be $50.00."

A hefty price but much worth the sacrifice for SpongeBob.

SpongeBob took out his wallet and gave the money.

The cashier put the money in.

"Alright..."

SpongeBob dashed out the supermarket.

He stood in front of the store with the spatula in hand.

"Can't wait to tell Mr. Krabs..."

SpongeBob looked at the object and then inspected it.

"What does this do?"

He pressed a button.

The red LED light on top of the spatula head began flashing.

Two extra heads popped out.

The two heads began spinning rapidly

SpongeBob soared up to the sky at a moderate pace.

However, he focused on the spinning spatula heads and not the diminishing ground.

"Wow, imagine serving Krabby patties like this..."

He noticed that he no longer felt the ground.

He looked down.

Barg'n-Mart was only a somewhat small treasure chest below.

"W-woah!" SpongeBob gripped the handle tightly as his legs dangled in the air.

He tried to calm himself down.

As the sponge looked around, nearly the entire Bikini Bottom was viewable.

SpongeBob caught his breath in awe.

He saw the Krusty Krab. Buses were surrounding it.

"Oh yeah! Can't goof off now. Maybe I can impress Mr. Krabs by serving customers with this spatula here!"

He leaned forward.

SpongeBob darted to the Krusty Krab at high speeds.

He smiled and was enthusiastic about presenting and showcasing his find to Mr. Krabs.

S-S-S-S-S

The meeping stopped.

The anchovies backed up and left the boat on the floor.

However, it was suspiciously quiet.

Squidward was about to drop a foot on the floor.

Mr. Krabs put a claw up.

His eyes narrowed.

"Mr. Squidward. Don't. Move. A. Muscle."

Squidward's foot retreated and the both of them stood as still as statues.

They glared at the anchovies.

The anchovies took another step back.

A pause...

A step...

More steps...

**RUMMMBLLLLE**

The anchovies became a tsunami and converged on the boat.

The wave moved rapidly and pummeled the boat.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs were wide-eyed.

Instead of tossing the boat in the air, the anchovies pushed the boat...

Towards the pole.

The pole zoomed into focus in a few seconds in front of Squidward and Mr. Krabs.

"ABANDON SHIP!" Mr. Krabs shouted above the noise.

Time slowed.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs jumped with all their might.

They floated into the air.

CRUUUNNNCH

The boat smashed to hundreds of wooden pieces. The cash register flipped in the air and sunk into the anchovies. The pieces of the boat flew across the large room and then fell to the floor.

The anchovies weren't phased.

They surrounded the pole.

Time resumed to normal.

Mr. Krabs and Squidward were soaring up to the ceiling in midair.

"HELP!" Squidward screamed in terror.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" Mr. Krabs announced.

For a moment Mr. Krabs noticed that they were flying adjacent to the wooden pole.

"Climb, Mr. Squidward! CLIMB!"

"Huh?"

Squidward looked at the pole he was next to.

*gasp*

He clung to the pole.

Below Mr. Krabs also clung to the pole.

Right now, this dull and unimportant mast has become their lifeline.

Squidward climbed for dear life.

Soon Mr. Krabs caught up to him.

They were both right below the ceiling.

Anchovies attempted to climb up the pole but failed miserably and slipped off.

There were meeps of frustration.

Then some of the anchovies jumped on top of their brethren.

The horde of hungry customers tried a different formation.

The ones standing on top pulled back like sling shots by other anchovies.

A pause...

They flew.

Anchovies whizzed past Mr. Krabs and Squidward like bullets.

Their iron-clad grip to the pole strengthened.

One of the anchovies nearly hit Squidward.

Squidward teetered and held on with one sticky tentacle.

A sweatdrop ran down his brow.

"Barnacles!"

Squidward climbed even further up and almost hugged the ceiling.

"Hold on Mr. Squidward!"

"Why do you keep calling me Mr. Squidward?!" An artery showed on Squidward's forehead.

"DO YOU WANT TO STAY ALI-"

An anchovy crashed hard on to the wooden mast.

**GROOOAAAAN**

The pole shook violently from the impact.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH**!" Both Mr. Krabs and Squidward screamed as they withstood the 'wood quake'.

The vibrations subsided.

"Phew." Squidward wiped his brow.

A pause.

Anchovies were no longer flailing around in the air.

They retreated from the pole...

They ran to the edge of the room where the ordering window and a few doors resided.

They leaned back.

'Dear Neptune no.' Mr. Krabs shuddered.

Squidward shook from severe anxiety.

The anchovies prepared for a second tsunami wave.

The two immediately realized their fate.

"This is the end. Goodbye, Mr. Squidward." Mr. Krabs stated solemnly.

"Oh Mr. Krabs!"

Tears formed in their eyes and they sobbed.

The anchovies walk slowly...

Their pace gradually quickened...

The height of the wave rose exponentially in the process.

The horde of anchovies locked on to Squidward and Mr. Krabs.

The chance of knocking them off the mast was guaranteed.

The two that were clinging to their final breaths of life were doomed...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob dashed through the sky like a comet.

His skin was burning from the velocity.

"Can't...let...Mr...Krabs...down!"

He used all the strength he could muster from his thin arms to stay on track.

Rooftops bellow him became speeding pellets.

Soon the road enlarged.

SpongeBob kicked his feet at the last second.

Mere inches from the ground.

The spinning spatula maintained a normal altitude.

The windows of the Krusty Krab popped into view.

It was speeding towards his face.

"Rrrrrggggh!"

Screech!

SpongeBob was an inch away from the glass.

He witnessed hordes of anchovies run at accelerating speeds towards a mast.

A wave of anchovies formed.

Mr. Krabs and Squidward clung helplessly to the mast, crying while doing so.

The anchovies suffered from extreme gluttony and this was quite obvious to SpongeBob.

"I know what to do!" SpongeBob snapped his fingers and made a wide smile.

He dove forward to the doors.

S-S-S-S-S

**RUUUUMMMMMBBBLLLLEEE**

Squidward and Mr. Krabs closed their eyes.

Awaiting the inevitable...

...

...

...

**S-SLAM!**

The double doors flew open.

"Permission to come aboard captain!"

Red LED light blinking.

Spatulas spinning like fans.

A yellow sponge soared and flew in close to the ceiling.

The wave jolted and shook.

A foot away from the mast.

The anchovies lost balance.

The wave collapsed on itself.

Meeps of surprise and confusion.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs went wide-eyed. Their jaws dropped.

"What in the world..." Mr. Krabs spoke silently in shock.

"Da da da da da da da! Da da da da da da da da da da!" SpongeBob sung a heroic chant as he flew towards Mr. Krabs.

"Did someone order a spatula?" SpongeBob stopped in front of Mr. Krabs. "That's right! One hydrodynamic spatula with-"

The two twirling spatula heads extended further and were barely visible. SpongeBob indicated this more clearly by pointing at them with his fingers.

"port-and-starboard attachments, and let's not forget the turbo drive!"

SpongeBob made the mini-spatulas spin at a higher speed. It accidentally smacked across Squidward and Mr. Krabs' faces.

SpongeBob bit his lip.

"Would you believe they only had one in stock? To the kitchen!" SpongeBob flew quickly to the ordering window.

"Who's hungry?" He screamed below to the stunned anchovies.

SpongeBob flew through the ordering window.

THUD

He landed on the floor.

The kitchen was assorted with utensils and ingredients.

SpongeBob knew all the ingredients and steps required to make krabby patties by watching how Squidward cooked them when SpongeBob himself was a customer.

He ran towards a table where the ingredients rested.

With the hydrodynamic spatula he dove in.

The spatula shredded and grinded through the ingredients.

Slices of them flew in the air and surrounded the table.

Eventually they landed neatly in piles.

SpongeBob ran towards a closet.

He opened it and took out bags of krabby patties.

He threw the patties on the grill like shurikens. He turned the grill on and put it on a high temperature. The patties were cooked to the right temperature and were flipped within nanoseconds by the spatula. SpongeBob ran back to the closet and took out a bag of buns. With ultra-efficiency he made the krabby patties while carefully following the steps.

SpongeBob peered out through the ordering window and used his spatula like a baseball bat as he threw krabby patties at the anchovies.

Rapidly some anchovies munched on the Krabby patties and left some money.

This left the other anchovies more ravenous and they charged at the metal wall.

**GROOOAAAN**

SpongeBob shook as the anchovies attempted to barge through the room.

Mr. Krabs and Squidward bit their lips and continued to hold onto the mast.

He haphazardly kept making Krabby patties.

His legs wobbled under the force of the anchovies.

There wasn't any time to stand and wait for the anchovies to stop.

He pushed his speed past the limits and dished out more Krabby patties. He was like a machine gun as he fired at numerous anchovies.

More and more ate and left money in the air.

After a few minutes his limbs felt weak.

His cooking speed faltered.

His muscles ached at increasing rates.

He almost tripped at one point.

'I can't stop now. Not when I'm this close.'

After slowing down a bit more the anchovies began making slight dents at the metal walls. They were becoming more and more desperate.

SpongeBob closed his eyes.

His face contorted in concentration.

His limbs became a blur as krabby patties were served so fast they flew at supersonic speeds.

Only a crowd remained and soon most of them left the Krusty Krab.

The last anchovy swallowed the patty and left.

Money littered the floor in piles.

A pause.

The anchovies returned to the five buses.

Engines started.

The buses promptly turned and drove out of the perimeter of the Krusty Krab. They continued to drive down the road.

The faint specks in the horizon vanished.

SpongeBob smiled, satisfied with what he has done.

He lowered his arms and took a deep breath.

Mr. Krabs stared at the money on the floor.

He drooled at the magnitude of the profits he had just earned.

The crustacean slid down the pole, facing down and looking at the money while doing so.

Mr. Krabs landed on the floor, careful not to step and dirty the money.

"Can you get me a huge bag to fit all of my green children?" Mr. Krabs asked.

SpongeBob nodded his head and obeyed. He searched through the kitchen-

**CLANK!**

**THUD!**

Large sounds of objects collapsing to the floor could be heard as SpongeBob continued his search.

He opened a cabinet under the sink and there the bag laid.

"Found it!"

SpongeBob opened the door and tossed the bag to Mr. Krabs.

Mr. Krabs caught it with his claws and opened it up.

Column by column he scooped up the money from the floor and put it in his bag.

SpongeBob ran in and assisted with the collection.

The bag begun to get heavy.

"Can you get me a wheelbarrow while you're at it?"

SpongeBob dashed into the kitchen and found a wheelbarrow quickly.

He dashed back out and was carting it in his hands.

Once the floor was clear Squidward decided to drop down to the floor.

It was safe for him to do so without aggravating Mr. Krabs.

A collossal bag of money rested on a wheelbarrow.

"By the way lad, what's your name?"

"SpongeBob SquarePants." SpongeBob stated his name with pride and did a military salute.

"Well then. That was the finest fast foodsmanship I've ever seen, Mr. SquarePants! Welcome aboard!" Mr. Krabs smirked and put a name tag on SpongeBob's shirt. "You've earned it."

SpongeBob's eyes glistened as he looked at the name tag.

Squidward walked to Mr. Krabs with drooping shoulders and disappointment all over his face.

"But, but Mr. Krabs-" Squidward spoke solemnly.

"Three cheers for SpongeBob! Hip-hip!"

"Hooray, Mr-" Squidward spoke the 'hooray' quietly.

"Hip-hip!"

"Hooray." Squidward barely said the word this time.

"Hip-hip."

"Hooray. Mr. Krabs!"

"I'll be in my quarters, counting up the booty." Mr. Krabs wheelbarrowed the money to his office, he shut the door.

Squidward sighed.

S-S-S-S-S

A familiar sea star walked toward an also familiar building.

'I wonder how SpongeBob's doing...'

Patrick stood in front of the Krusty Krab. It was unknown to him that SpongeBob was employed.

He was curious as to SpongeBob's success.

Suddenly his stomach grumbled.

Patrick was moderately hungry. Perfect timing.

'Let's eat.'

Patrick opened the door.

S-S-S-S-S

The pieces of the boat were gathered in a pile.

Squidward was a bit tired from finding all those pieces.

He put the cash register below the ordering window.

Squidward sat on the floor and leaned on the wall, procrastinating on fixing the boat.

"Good morning, Krusty Krew!"

Patrick walked inside the Krusty Krab. He stopped in front of the cash register. He looked up at the Galley Grub.

"What would you like to order, Patrick?" Squidward spoke without any passion. Uninterested in his work as always.

"Uhhhhh.." Patrick was deep in thought.

Squidward became impatient.

"One Krabby patty, please."

SpongeBob jumped in place back at the kitchen.

His instincts kicked in and he prepared Krabby patties at a rapid pace. His arms became blurs in sonic movement.

SpongeBob hasn't cooled down from the recent battle with the anchovies.

In a matter of minutes Krabby patties were made and shot across the ordering window.

Squidward almost had a heart attack.

Squidward flinched and ducked.

Patrick went wide-eyed.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Once the Krabby patties hit him he was overwhelmed. He was pushed by the velocity of the burgers.

He burst out the entrance.

S-S-S-S-S

He landed on the outdoor ground with a loud THUD.

The patties stacked in piles above him within seconds.

*groan*

Patrick was heavily dizzy.

The world spun like a wheel.

S-S-S-S-S

"Hehe...oops...order...up?"

SpongeBob wore a plastic grin and a sweatdrop ran down his face.

Squidward sat back up.

He turned to look at SpongeBob.

He made a vicious glare that pierced SpongeBob's soul.

SpongeBob made a wider grin and he became very nervous. The hands holding his machine spatula wobbled.

After a few seconds of glaring a light bulb lit up in Squidward's head.

He wasn't going to let the yellow demon further ruin his life that easily.

Living as a neighbor to him was already near Squidward's limit.

Squidward stood up from the floor.

SpongeBob relaxed a bit until-

"Mr. Krabs! Mr. KRABS!" Squidward sung. He was dashing toward the door. Even his walking almost seemed like dancing

*gasp*

SpongeBob's eyes widened.

He flew the kitchen door open and chased Squidward.

"No! No! Noooo!"

He grabbed Squidward's ankle.

However, Squidward's hand was on the door handle to Mr. Krab's office.

He was a knob's pull away from salvation.

Squidward looked content, already feeling as if the deed was done.

He twisted the knob.

SpongeBob grabbed his ankle.

Time slowed.

The door slowly slid open...

Mr. Krabs could be seen monotonously counting his money...

The money bag leaned against the desk...

Squidward opened his mouth...

SpongeBob had a look of horror...

As fast as he fulfilled his dream, his dream would decay and crumble. SpongeBob's efforts would be put to almost little use, only used at one moment of feeding ravenous anchovies. He would return to the days of odd jobs, the days of wandering around Bikini Bottom and finding a purpose would become reality before his very eyes...

Time resumed.

"Squidward! Please don't!"

"Mr. Krabs, come see your new employeeeeeeeee!"

Mr. Krabs looked annoyed from Squidward's interruption.

"Leave Mr. Squarepants alone Squidward. The lad needs to adjust to his new environment." Mr. Krabs said this while he continued to count the money mentally.

"RGH!"

Squidward's face turned red.

He stomped out.

Squidward shut the door behind SpongeBob, who no longer grasped his ankle.

"Don't worry your head off lad. He's always grumpy and lazy on the job. However, I can't fire him. Better off having him then me having to do all the work."

SpongeBob nodded.

He stood up and smiled.

SpongeBob walked out the door and left.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick shuffled out of the pile of Krabby patties.

"You're okay Patrick?" SpongeBob walked up to him, he showed concern.

Patrick made a thumbs up. "Way to go buddy. See? It was all in you."

"Very true."

Patrick pat SpongeBob in the back. He ate a Krabby patty as he walked away.

"C'ya later."

"Bye Pat!"

Patrick walked away, his hunger was satisfied.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs put the money back in his bag; he had finished counting.

"Good start for today."

He walked up to a seemingly normal wall behind his desk.

He tapped a hidden button.

An input prompting a password opened from the wall

Mr. Krabs inputted the password with agile claws.

DING!

A major slit in the wall appeared adjacent to the password input and slid open to a very large vault.

Another input for a password was right next to the lock.

Mr. Krabs quickly typed another password.

DING!

The lock was loosened.

Mr. Krabs twisted the lock and opened the vault.

He poured the money out of the bag. He organized them in careful stacks adjacent and identical with the rest of the money in the vault.

He stepped away from the vault and closed the door. His claws twisted the lock back in place.

The vaults and password inputs were once again hidden beneath the wall.

He walked towards the exit door.

'I should show the lad around the place.' While walking from his office.

He-

S-S-S-S-S

opened the door.

SpongeBob was walking merrily across the large dining area.

There was an acute drought of customers ever since the anchovies left.

"Ah, there you are." Mr. Krabs walked to SpongeBob. "I'm gonna give you a tour of the Krusty Krab. I want you to have a good feel of the vessel."

"Oooooh. A tour!"

"I won't revisit the obvious spots of course. You were a frequent customer before you got employed."

SpongeBob's eyes sparkled.

"Follow me."

Mr. Krabs went to the cash register.

Squidward was snoring, a book over his face.

Mr. Krabs pointed at the ordering window specifically.

"You see that chandelier doo-hickey over there. That's where Squidward puts up orders that you have to take. Since you are our fry cook and all."

As Mr. Krabs stated, there was a metal ring on the top of the ordering window where notes would be put for orders.

Mr. Krabs walked away and entered the kitchen.

SpongeBob followed closely.

Mr. Krabs walked towards a door SpongeBob didn't notice before.

"This is where I can inspect on you from my office."

He opened the door which showed the office.

Mr. Krabs walked towards a metal door.

"This is the freezer. Most of the Krabby patties on the ship are stored here."

Mr. Krabs opened the door and a sudden artic wind blew on them.

SpongeBob shivered.

Mr. Krabs promptly shut the door.

The crustacean quickly walked out of the kitchen towards the dining room.

SpongeBob jogged behind.

Mr. Krabs walked into an adjacent door which lead to the bathroom.

SpongeBob quickly appeared before him.

"You probably know that Squidward sleeps here often but there is one thing I want to show you."

He walked to a machine where you could swipe a card.

"Everyday before you go to work you will swipe a card into this machine which will mark your attendance."

Mr. Krabs handed SpongeBob a brand new ID card.

SpongeBob marveled at his reflection on the card. "Wow."

Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob left the bathroom.

Mr. Krabs pointed to the open space above the metal wall and doors.

"That is the storage area. Don't worry, the likelihood of you going up there is the same as that of discovering treasure."

Mr. Krabs went to the kitchen. He then opened another door straight ahead which took him outside.

SpongeBob stood before him.

"This will be out last stop. This feller right here." Mr. Krabs pointed at a large dumpster which was the only thing there behind the Krusty Krab. "Will help ya out a lot during cleaning duty. All you have to do is to throw trash cans in there. We always do cleaning duty before we close unless I tell you to clean a certain place."

They both went inside the Krusty Krab.

Mr. Krabs was pondering, a claw on his chin. "Hmmmmm..."

He noticed the pile of Krabby patties outside and the pile of boat pieces.

"SpongeBob, Squidward, store the patties away and fix the boat!" He leaned on the wall and watched closely.

"Right away sir!" SpongeBob ran outside to tend to the patties.

Squidward stood up and began putting the wooden pieces together.

After a few seconds SpongeBob made a pattern of rapidly entering and exiting the Krusty Krab so as to put the patties away.

This heavily annoyed and distracted Squidward. He tried his best to stay focused.

SpongeBob ran a few inches too close to Squidward.

The boat pieces collapsed and the jigsaw puzzle was ruined.

Squidward shook a fist, fuming.

SpongeBob awkwardly continued his duties.

He ran inside the kitchen.

He opened the freezer as Mr. Krabs showed him.

He put Krabby patties away neatly.

He ran back outside to get more.

A half hour later.

The boat looked spotless, the fruit of Squidward's labor.

Squidward wiped the sweat off his face. He climbed up to the storage area to put the glue away.

SpongeBob came out of the kitchen, complete with his chore.

Squidward jumped down and at long last sat down on the repaired boat. He took a well-earned nap.

Abruptly a customer opened the doors and entered the Krusty Krab.

*gasp* "A customer! Yes!" SpongeBob ran to the kitchen. He turned on the grill.

"Ugh." Squidward sat straight.

Mr. Krabs returned to his office.

"Ooh. They got a new employee? It's been a while since there was two."

"Can you just state your order?" Squidward was in a sour mood.

"Of course."

Beyond the ordering window SpongeBob witnessed the event. He made a wide grin. "I'm becoming famous already!"

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later. After SpongeBob served many customers for his first day.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was whistling.

He picked up trash bags from trash bins and walked to the kitchen.

He then opened a door to the back of the Krusty Krab.

He threw the trash bags into the dumpster.

Squidward came with more trash bags and threw it into the dumpster. Squidward was happy that his work would end soon.

The sun was close to setting on the horizon. They sky was in a temporary light orange, which would soon fade to dark blue.

It was 6:00 PM.

They went back to the dining room.

They put in new trash bags inside the bins.

"Good job boys! Closing time!" Mr. Krabs shouted and he walked towards the door.

SpongeBob walked out the door and Squidward trailed behind him.

Mr. Krabs switched the sign from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED'.

He took the now useless 'Help Wanted' sign off the window.

He inserted the golden key in his claws into the door.

The door was then locked.

"Oh yeah. One more thing." Mr. Krabs looked at SpongeBob. "I'll be taking that spatula." SpongeBob gave him the spatula without hesitation. "I'll sell this at an auction. Anyways, I'll give you the traditional spatula next time you come around." Mr. Krabs showed the casual spatula to SpongeBob, it didn't have any special features. SpongeBob marveled once again at the utensil. "I'll be seeing you on Monday. We don't work on Sunday, which is tommorrow."

SpongeBob grinned. He made a military salute. "Roger that sir!"

Mr. Krabs made a pirate laugh and walked home. Ready to pull off a scheme to rob people's money.

Squidward and SpongeBob walked home side by side.

"This is going to be amazing! Not only are we neighbors, we are now coworkers!" *gasp* "I could be with my friends for almost the whole day! This is the best day of my life!"

Squidward focused on ignoring SpongeBob although he winced at the word 'friends'.

"Thank you very much SpongeBob. Now working in the Krusty Krab is a living hell." He sighed.

SpongeBob was skipping across the street merrily. "Hahahahahahaha!" He did his famous laugh, the weirdest one in Bikini Bottom. "You're welcome." SpongeBob perceived Squidward as sarcastic instead of listening and understanding him completely.

"If you don't mind me, I'm going to get some sleep." Squidward stated with dignity and walked faster.

"Since I'm in the Krusty Krew, do you want to celebrate and party at my place?"

"No no no no no no no."

"Okee-dokee."

Squidward's tiki was only a block away, between SpongeBob's pineapple and Patrick's rock.

"Bye Squidward!" SpongeBob skipped to his house and went inside.

"Good riddance." Squidward opened the door to his tiki and went inside. He slammed the door shut.

S-S-S-S-S

In a room with a wooden bed and a wooden table with an alarm clock on top of it, Squidward slept. The rooms in his house were as bizarre as his artistic taste. Several portraits of himself were kept in the tiki, all of them expressing Squidward's narcissim.

He laid on the mattress, sheet over most of his body, and was snoring through his nose. He wore a sleeping mask and hat.

The snores resounded throughout the room.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick slept on a sofa of sand. He was drooling. He fell asleep after watching television.

The tv of sand was showing gray dust on the screen.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was still a bit awake that night.

Still fascinated and shocked that he was now the Krusty Krab fry cook.

He looked out the window, pondering on what he was going to do tommorow since the Krusty Krab was closed. Many viable options appeared in his mind.

"Maybe I should go jellyfishing with Patrick tommorrow. Ooh! Or stroll around Bikini Bottom and take a little trip! Or visit my parents and tell them the good news!" Nearly every thought in SpongeBob's mind was spoken aloud.

Gary slept peacefully in the bedroom.

The crescent moon reflected over the ocean surface. Patiently waiting for the sun to take it's place.


	2. Reef Blower

**Chapter 2: Reef Blower**

* * *

A well-rested Squidward opened the door. SpongeBob didn't create much of a disturbance last night.

He inhaled and exhaled, enjoying the fresh Sunday morning air. He even smiled as he realized SpongeBob and Patrick weren't up to their usual shenanigans.

He stood below his hideous tiki for a bit.

He inspected the flower in the vase that was next to his door. The flower was bending to the side.

Squidward promptly fixed it to it's correct posture.

He cautiously scanned his lawn, it seemed to be ideal, except...

for a mere seashell to the left corner.

Squidward fumed for a moment, his paradise of a Sunday was slightly spoiled.

He walked up to the seashell.

It suddenly dawned upon him that SpongeBob might be watching him.

With a slight jolt from the realization he began to whistle innocently.

He made a gentle kick to the seashell.

It flew quietly and slowly to SpongeBob's lawn.

Squidward walked away quickly, he went back to his house.

"This would be the perfect time to write a song."

Squidward ran upstairs to his music room.

In the room windows in the shapes of eyes overlooked the neighborhood before the tiki.

He grabbed a few empty papers from a stack.

He found a spare pen from a stand that was holding musical notes.

Squidward promptly went outside once again at high speeds.

He walked to the backyard.

"SpongeBob and Patrick might be still sleeping."

Squidward became calm as the peaceful environment inspired him to write his latest piece of art.

In the backyard a hammock tied between two coral trees rested there. A well-tended garden covered the majority of the yard.

Squidward sat on the hammock. He laid down and loosened his body.

He took a deep breath.

The pen scribbled on the paper as Squidward wrote his new song.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob tried to shake off his hazy vision.

Gary was awake and was drowsy as always.

The snail opened a door to a set of stairs and went downstairs to watch TV at the living room.

SLAM

The door was shut.

SpongeBob jumped.

SpongeBob put on his clothes, he was fully awake.

He looked out the window.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for a seashell resting on his lawn.

He considered cleaning it off his property.

"I got something more fun to do." With a smile he turned to his treasure chest.

He flipped it open. It revealed plenty of artifacts and junk. Except for an instrument case which was designed to fit a certain shape.

With care he flipped it open.

He took out a wooden jelly fishing net. The tool was used for a major portion of SpongeBob's life and he could remember countless adventures in Jellyfish Fields just from looking at it.

He then made a fighting stance with the net.

He swiped low, uppercutted, swiped to the side, and a 360 swipe all in rapid succession and were repeated many times.

The net apparently split into clones in many areas at the same time from the speed and precision of SpongeBob's swipes.

The air swished loudly and rapidly.

SpongeBob immediately stopped his swipes.

He flipped the net to the ceiling.

The net flipped rapidly to form a wooden wheel as it soared up.

It was only inches away from the ceiling.

It dove down.

SNATCH

SpongeBob grasped the net with both hands, his timing was near perfect.

He made a final swipe down to the mattress.

The net taped the bed lightly, not too hard, not too soft. A guarantee that a jellyfish would've been caught.

SpongeBob relaxed his tense muscles.

*giggles* "I can't wait to jellyfish with Patrick and show him my new skills!"

SpongeBob jumped up and down in excitement. His passion was on the brink of being uncontrollable.

Suddenly a light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's head.

He snapped his fingers.

"Gotta save this for later." He put the net back inside the treasure chest just as it was found.

He walked up to the window. Carefully eyeing the seashell for the last time.

He opened the window and sat on the rim.

He made a slight hop and crouched on the rim, giving himself time to balance himself out.

He eyed the walls of his pineapple through the corner of his eye.

He jumped and bolted down an adjacent wall.

His spongy skin was slippery enough so as to slide down the fruity surface.

He steered his way to the back of his house.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward's ideas flowed into his pen and was engraved on his potential masterpiece.

The atmosphere was silent.

THIIFT

The sound of a silent bullet was heard from Squidward's ears.

He immediately sat up and turned around to look at SpongeBob's pineapple.

For a split second he saw a flash of yellow skim around the dwelling.

Squidward narrowed his eyes.

"Uh oh. I wonder what SpongeBob's trying to do this time." *sighs* "As long as he doesn't bother me..."

He inspected Patrick's rock just to be safe. No activity occurred.

Squidward went back to his writing.

S-S-S-S-S

Plop!

SpongeBob safely landed before the garage door.

A crowbar leaned against the wall adjacent to the large door. A major asset to opening that behemoth entrance due to SpongeBob's lack of strength.

SpongeBob picked up the crowbar.

He inserted it under the garage door.

With a forceful pull the door slid open and retracted completely.

A loud sound echoed throughout the neighborhood. It shook the pineapple for a second.

"Grrrrr! SPONGEBOB!"

SpongeBob quickly turned to Squidward's way. "Good morning Squidward!" He smiled.

Squidward was standing up in his backyard, his writing was interrupted. He was glaring.

SpongeBob waved and ran inside the garage.

Squidward went back to the hammock.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Rustling.

Shuffling.

The faint sounds of a television going on in the nearby living room.

SpongeBob scavenged through the stuff he had in the garage.

He shoved a box away.

And there it laid.

"Aha!"

A monstrosity of a machine stood before SpongeBob. Its enormous size, a pull starter, a power switch, a hose, and jet engine was what it consisted of. It seemed to be a backpack from the future. The reef blower itself was given to SpongeBob by one of his uncles, it was quite old and hadn't aged well.

SpongeBob strapped it on.

"I never tried this out before."

He lifted it up, it wasn't too heavy.

He smirked.

SpongeBob stomped outside.

S-S-S-S-S

The garage door shut to a close.

Squidward flinched in his hammock.

FLICK

SpongeBob turned the switch to 'ON'.

The engine came to life.

The engine made thunderous sounds and began throbbing.

S-S-S-S-S

The sounds of the engine assailed Squidward's ears. His body vibrated from the sheer loudness.

Squidward gritted his teeth, this time he was sincerely pissed off.

He took out some earplugs from his shirt pocket and put them on.

He once again looked at SpongeBob's pineapple.

SpongeBob was running towards the front of his house, for certain he was up to his antics.

Squidward shook his fist and laid down on the hammock. It was silent enough to return to his writing and staying focused.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stood before the seashell.

The hose was sniped on the object.

The seashell was about to be blown to the moon.

His other hand grasped the starter.

He pulled the starter firmly and released.

An awkward pause.

The engine coughed and sputtered.

A puff of air came out of the hose.

It didn't move the seashell at all.

SpongeBob raised his eyebrow.

Looks like the engine won't give in without a fight.

The hose was repositioned to the seashell.

He pulled the starter slowly this time, it stretched a few more inches.

SpongeBob's eyes stared and concentrated on the shell.

He released the starter.

Another awkward pause.

The engine once again coughed and stuttered.

Another puff of air was released from the hose, obviously it didn't move the shell.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward folded the sheets of paper and put it and his pen in his shirt pocket.

He sighed. "Can't focus with SpongeBob around."

He took off his earplugs and put them in his shirt pocket.

Squidward walked back to his tiki and went inside.

He walked to the kitchen.

He opened the fridge and prepared his breakfast.

Once everything was set he opened the door and went back outside.

One hand was holding some vegetables and a fork on a plate.

In the backyard there was a table and a seat.

He sat there and peacefully ate his meal.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob took a deep breath.

He grasped the starter tightly and pulled to the limits of his arm.

A sweatdrop ran down his brow.

He squeezed the hose in his grasp.

A pause.

He released the starter.

FFFFWWOOOOOOSSSSH

A torrent of air spouted out from the hose.

SpongeBob was pushed back from the force of the reef blower.

The aim of the torrent missed completely and impacted the sand instead.

The sand hit by the concentrated air erupted towards the sky.

SpongeBob watched the missile of sand from below, eyes wide.

"Uh oh."

A pause.

The sand succumbed to gravity and arched downward.

It flew straight toward Squidward.

*gasp* "SQUIDWARD WATCH OUT!"

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward dropped his fork.

"SpongeBob! What could you possibly want no-"

A shadow enveloped his figure.

Squidward looked up.

A pillar of sand headed straight towards him.

He flinched and gasped for a second before-

**PLOP**

He was buried in a coffin of sand.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stopped before the hill of sand that was once Squidward.

"My bad." He made a crooked grin. A sweatdrop ran down his face.

A pause.

"Don't worry! I'll fix it!"

He pulled the starter and aimed the hose at Squidward. The reef blower was functioning normally this time.

He released the starter.

FWWWOOOOSSH

The sand was pushed away from Squidward and gathered elsewhere.

Squidward glared at SpongeBob.

He looked down at his breakfast.

The green vegetables were tainted with sand.

SpongeBob noticed this and took action. He aimed the hose carefully on the food. He pulled and released the starter.

FWOOOSH

The sand flew from the food and made contact on Squidward's eyes.

Squidward's eyes were irritated from the sand and became bloodshot.

Squidward winced in pain.

SpongeBob jolted.

He aimed the hose at Squidward's face and blew again.

FWOOSH

The sand finally disappeared.

Squidward returned to his eating, attempting to forget the whole incident.

SpongeBob turned to face his lawn.

A pile of sand stood where the seashell used to be.

SpongeBob narrowed his eyes. He pointed at the hill and whispered "You!".

He ran to the sand hill.

He turned the hose upside down and turned the switch from 'FOWARD' to 'REVERSE'.

He pulled and released the starter.

The hose successfully sucked up the seashell and the sand pile. The contents went to the metal container.

Suddenly the machine started to shake violently.

COUGH

Sand was spewed from the hose. Even some bolts of the machinery managed to be spat out.

SpongeBob loosened the straps from his shoulders and put the blower on the ground.

THUD

He walked to the backside of the machine. A convenient zipper was etched to the metal back.

SpongeBob unzipped the container. The contents of the machine could be seen.

The machine kept shaking and struggled to function properly.

He grabbed the junk that was messing up the machine and put the trash on the ground.

The reef blower ceased to shake.

SpongeBob smiled.

He zipped the blower and strapped it back on to him.

He pulled and released the starter to test it out.

The engine throbbed for a few seconds.

Then it died, the motor stopped making any noises.

SpongeBob narrowed his eyes and made a determined look at the blower.

He set the reef blower down.

He grabbed the starter.

Then he briskly ran down the block while the starter pulled with him.

It stretched and stretched and stretched.

S-S-S-S-S

Several seconds later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stomped as he pulled the starter.

His face contorted as he used all the ounces of his wimpy strength.

He stopped moving.

The cord has reached its limit, it was almost transparent by that time.

SpongeBob wiped his hands while still holding on to the cord.

A pause.

He turned around and leaned foward.

He jumped an inch.

The cord pulled furiously forward.

SpongeBob was like a rocket as he flew past blocks and blocks of houses.

He struggled to even see as air blasted at his eyes.

He felt like the wind itself as the pineapple came into view.

The reef blower zoomed closer and closer towards his vision.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward sat on his front door.

He was writing his song and it was near completion.

Abruptly he noticed from the corner of his eye that the reef blower was standing still and not moving.

He looked up from the paper.

The starter was stretching heavily and pierced the horizon to Squidward's right.

"What in the world?" Squidward raised his brow.

A yellow dot popped up in the distance.

Squidward turned to that object's direction.

SpongeBob was holding on to the starter and was heading straight towards the reef blower. His speed rivaled that of a jet.

Squidward went wide-eyed.

He braced himself.

SpongeBob flew past him.

S-S-S-S-S

The starter was completely released.

SpongeBob's back collided on the reef blower and was strapped on.

The machine turned on violently.

The hose was shaking.

SpongeBob looked at the hose, dreading what was going to happen.

The hose began to suck up the surrounding water.

Sweat ran down SpongeBob's face as the hose kept sucking up as much water as possible.

A whirlpool appeared to have came out of the hose as if it was a drain

With a trembling hand he flicked the power switch to 'OFF'.

The reef blower refused to shut down and drained up more exponential amounts of water.

SpongeBob looked up towards the sky.

The surface of the ocean was falling towards ground level.

The water level was shrinking.

The ground began to shake.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary, SpongeBob's pet snail, was watching TV. He is quite the gluttonous creature. SpongeBob has to feed him often and he has a major appetite for snail nip. Other than eating he doesn't go outside often. He also has an assortment of strange talents that are unusual for Gary's species of snail.

He was watching football and the TV was blasted to a high volume as a team scored a touchdown.

He was drinking soda.

The floor shook.

Gary went wide-eyed.

The furniture began to shake.

The television rattled and it was difficult to watch the game.

The couch Gary was sitting on was teetering over from the mini-earthquake.

Gary hopped and landed on the floor.

The couch fell.

The furniture leaned towards the front door of the pineapple.

Gary was confused.

The water was being sucked out of the pineapple through the door and soon Gary was on dry land.

He breathed the dry air easily, he doesn't have gills and can breathe both air and water just fine.

He continued to watch the game.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward looked up as the surface of the ocean reached his level.

The land was sucked dry.

The tropical sun burned his skin.

He struggled to breathe.

He began choking.

His face turned blue.

S-S-S-S-S

Far above Bikini Bottom, in the surface world, rested the small island of Bikini Atoll which the town below was named after. It had three palm trees and a flock of seagulls lived there.

All the seagulls stopped flying and vocalizing.

They landed on the island and looked at the ocean.

After a few minutes the surrounding sea diminished before them and all they saw was the bottom of the sea and Bikini Bottom below them.

A slight tremor began.

The birds were wide-eyed and their beaks fell in shock.

Bikini Atoll revealed itself to be a large mountain of sand.

S-S-S-S-S

The reef blower grew and contorted a thousand times it's size.

It was the size of an asteroid

Cracks appeared on it's metal surface.

By far it went into overdrive when it sucked the water.

The seas nearby Bikini Bottom were sucked dry.

SpongeBob holded his breath as he looked up in surprise at the machine.

The machine constantly vibrated.

Water flowed out of the cracks.

The metal surface was further harmed and more cracks appeared.

The shaking of the reef blower rocked SpongeBob's body as more and more water spilled from the cracks. Eventually forming waterfalls.

GGGRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN

SSSPLLAAAAAAASSSHHH

A pause.

A few more minutes passed...

The blower gave way some more. It almost seemed like a broken eggshell.

Until-

GGGGGRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN

CLANK

A shread of metal popped off the shell of the container.

SpongeBob gulped.

The reef blower exploded.

KKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSPPLLLLAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSH

Water erupted like a supervolcano.

A collossal wall of water burst and pushed it's way through the air. Shredding anything in it's path.

SpongeBob and Squidward were swept by the water.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary jolted as the front door of the pineapple shook rapidly.

It was forcefully opened and water rushed in.

SPLOOOOOOOOSHH

S-S-S-S-S

A mushroom cloud of foam water appeared high in the atmosphere.

The seagulls on Bikini Atoll witnessed the aquatic nuclear explosion.

Soon following the cloud was a mega tsunami.

The water enveloped miles and miles of dry land at a frightening pace.

The seagulls shrieked and flew to the skies.

The giant wave engulfed the island.

The seagulls watched from above.

The palm trees survived the oceanic blast and were still standing as if nothing happened.

The water receded from the island and the ocean began to rise.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened his eyes.

Sand assaulted his sense of sight.

He was buried in a grave of sand.

He was quickly running out of oxygen.

SpongeBob desperately dug at the sand.

He clawed his way out of his prison.

His legs joined in the frantic effort.

A free hand reached open water.

SpongeBob gasped.

He made a hole and dug out of the hill of sand.

He fell to the ground.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward opened his eyes.

His forehead was feeling open water.

And he rest of his body was buried in sand.

The octopus propelled himself up.

His entire head popped out of the hill of sand.

He took a few deep breaths.

"Phew."

The seashell he and SpongeBob tried to get rid of this whole time gently drifted and landed on his nose.

Squidward made a deep sigh.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick opened his eyes. *yawns*

This had to be the most awkwardly timed event in the world.

He got off his bed of sand.

He jumped up to the rocky ceiling.

CREEEEAAAK

The rock gently opened.

Patrick jumped out of the rock.

CREEEEAAAK

The rock closed.

Before him was a cemetery of sand piles. They were littered throughout his and Squidward's property, and Bikini Bottom in general. Except for the epicenter of the explosion, which was SpongeBob's pineapple.

SpongeBob got up. He dusted the sand off himself.

He walked back to his lawn which was now completely clean. He grinned and put his hands on his hips, a job well done.

"Gotta buy a new reef blower later."

SpongeBob turned around and checked his surroundings. He noticed Patrick in the distance.

"Oh yeah! We're going to jellyfish today." He whispered to himself. "Hey Pat!"

"Hi SpongeBob!" Patrick waved. "What's with the hills?"

"Ummmm... Let's just say I did that." SpongeBob laughed nervously and eyed the sand pile Squidward was in.

"Coooooool!" Patrick was clapping.

"Ready to go jellyfishing?"

"I'll need my net."

"Me too."

SpongeBob and Patrick went back to their homes to grab their gear.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward finally escaped the sand hill in front of his home.

He cleaned the sand off his body.

Rage was seething within him. Smoke came out of his ears and his head was as crimson as an apple.

"SPONGEBOB!"

He saw SpongeBob and Patrick run off towards the horizon with their jellyfishing nets.

Squidward then looked at all the sand hills littering the neighborhood.

He had a lot of excruciating work to do.


	3. Tea at the Treedome

**Chapter 3: Tea at the Treedome**

* * *

Patrick was playing around with his jelly fishing net. He twirled it in his hand and swished at the air.

It was a slightly long trip, the two were several far blocks from their neighborhood.

SpongeBob skipped merrily.

They were in the outskirts of Bikini Bottom. Not many buildings could be seen. The horizon was almost completely clean of urban obstacles.

"I am so excited right now!" SpongeBob skipped faster in enthusiasm.

"You get ready cuz I am gonna catch me a jellyfish." Patrick smirked.

SpongeBob giggled.

Patrick smiled even more, feeling ever more stupidly confident in his abilities.

"Patrick, you ever thought of catching a rare kind of jellyfish?"

"Uhhh. I don't remember seeing one."

"Me neither. But I hear rumors about them all the time."

"Aren't rumors fake?"

"Not all rumors are true Patrick, but not all rumors are false either. Some of them are half-truths."

"Uhhhhhh. Ummmmm." Patrick's brain melted. He was extremely confused at such alien concepts of truth and deceit.

"Anyway, today might be our lucky day. You never know!" SpongeBob's eyes shined towards the horizon, he smiled. Optimism grew within his mind.

"I think we're lost. I don't see anything new in front of me."

"Hold on Patrick. We're very close."

Patrick strained his eyesight for the slightest blade of green.

A pause.

Erected slowly before them was a plain of lush green grass. A fence bordered the fields to prevent tresspassing. The sun illuminated the field to a sparkling glow. In the far distance laid large hills and mounds. Even further beyond were majestic purple rock mountains. Groups of Jellyfish in the millions flew around the wilderness in tranquility.

A sign on two sticks said 'Jellyfish Fields'. A guard stood below it and kept the gate locked.

SpongeBob looked down at his watch. "Just in time, it's about to be 7: 30 AM."

The best friend duo walked up and stood before the closed wooden gate.

The guard noticed two familiar people.

He groaned.

The guard saw these two people nearly every weekend and it wasn't pleasant when he had them to wait for Jellyfish Fields to open. SpongeBob and Patrick always came early.

A minute later.

More people gathered behind SpongeBob and Patrick and waited for the gate to open. By looking at the nets, t-shirts, hiking gear, and cameras, they were either avid fans of the sport of jellyfishing or peculiar visitors of the area. They were of many ages from children to adults.

The guard looked at his cell phone. It said '7:30 AM'.

He fished in his left pocket and took out a walkie talkie.

"Alright boys, 'bout time we open the gates." He communicated with guards miles away from him, the guard himself must be of the highest rank.

The guard took out a key and unlocked the gate.

SpongeBob and Patrick prepared themselves like Olympic racers. SpongeBob put on his glasses.

"Welcome to Jellyfish Fields." The guard droned and opened the gate.

Behind him marched a stampede of people. He quickly ducked out of the way.

The people roared past him, he was spared.

SpongeBob and Patrick ran and prepared their nets.

And so commenced their adventure.

S-S-S-S-S

It was dim.

Air was abundant.

No water to breathe through.

Everything was dry.

A yawn.

Blanket flipped over.

A squirrel got up from bed and stretched her limbs.

Her vision was clear.

She was wearing a gown.

The bedroom was inside a tree, appropriate for such land animals.

She changed her clothes to a bikini.

She opened a door and walked down a moderately lit wooden hallway. The tree itself didn't allow room for too much lighting.

She went down a spiral set of stairs.

The wood creaked as she took each step.

There was a window in the shape of an opening of an oak tree that overlooked a glass dome, the dome was the only reason the place was dry.

The squirrel reached the bottom, touching a cold metal floor. The corridors were barren and completely clean.

She walked through several corridors, her bare feet echoed against the floor.

She stood in front of a pair of metal doors.

The doors slid open automatically.

She walked into a spacious room. Several rows and columns of tables took up most of the floor. On those tables were glass vials full o f strange substances and chemicals. Tools were scattered here and there. A major portion of the room contained strange machines in their prototype stages. Robots stood up straight against the wall, they were shut down for the night.

At a far end sat a laptop on a large table full of blueprints, computer chips, and several metal pieces of machinery.

Sandy walked to that part of the room. She turned the computer on.

A flick of a wrist.

The internet came up.

Her fingers quickly dashed along the keyboard.

She logged in to her email and looked at her inbox.

As always she had a daily assignment from the science institute. The squirrel was a striving scientist and inventor.

She read the somewhat lengthy assignment in the email.

Most of the email described how the assignment will be done, reasons for it, and goals to achieve. It would he quite boring and unnecessary to go to lengths of fully stating the letter since the squirrel is accustomed to the advanced jargon in the body of the text. There was however a highly crucial part.

'The field study will be done in the lower area around the mountainous region of Jellyfish Fields.'

"Hmmm. Only been there once." She spoke in a strange accent.

She finished reading the email and shut off the computer.

The squirrel turned to a astronaut suit leaning against a wall. It had a flower on the glass bubble.

She went over and turned on a few of her robots that were not in prototype forms.

The robots' eyes fluctuated with light.

"Tidy up the place while I'm gone. Make sure to take care of the animals outside." The squirrel gave quite a common command.

The robots went to work without a sign of a glitch or error. They either organized the place or cleaned this and adjacent rooms. Some went outside.

She opened the zipper and got inside the suit, she then sealed herself in it. No matter how goofy it looked it was the only way to survive outside the Treedome.

She went back upstairs.

She went to the front door to the oak tree and opened it.

Grass, plants, and other small creatures inhabited inside the dome, it was a mini sanctuary for the wildlife with the deep sea surrounding them.

The squirrel walked up to a metal door and opened it.

She closed the door as she stood in a glass hallway. The actual entrance was in front of her.

She flipped a switch on one of the glass walls.

Water flooded the hallway, it didn't breach the dome on the other side. The doors are air-tight and the water entered the hallway so as to prevent sudden flooding from the pressure of the ocean floor.

She opened the entrance and finally went to the outside ocean world.

The squirrel headed in the direction of Jellyfish Fields.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's eyes narrowed.

He pursued a group of three jellyfish. They were flying quickly in single file order.

He quickened his speed.

SpongeBob gained a few feet towards them.

The jellyfish suddenly flew up.

A rock zoomed towards SpongeBob.

Time slowed.

SpongeBob made a huge leap.

His feet were centimeters close from being scraped by the rock.

SpongeBob landed.

Time resumed.

He did a quick sprint and then normalized his pace.

The jellyfish shuffled through several jellyfishers.

SpongeBob swerved left and barely touched a swishing jellyfishing net.

SpongeBob dived and avoided another net jabbing upwards.

The jellyfish then flew towards some large hills.

SpongeBob tried to run faster as he scaled a hill.

The jellyfish were trying to lose SpongeBob as they increased their speed.

His foot reached the summit.

He curled up and somesaulted.

SpongeBob accelerated rapidly towards the jellyfish.

Once he got close enough he uncurled. He winced as he was an inch away from the stinger of a jellyfish.

SpongeBob dived below the jellyfish.

He avoided the stingers and went past them. He dashed in front of them.

SpongBob turned around.

The jellyfish darted towards him. A collision was bound to happen.

SpongeBob twirled the jellyfishing net in his hand and released it.

The twirling wooden frisbee sliced the air and collided on the jellyfish.

S-S-SNATCH

All three jellyfish were caught in the net.

Like a boomerang the net returned to SpongeBob's hand.

"Yes!" SpongeBob pumped his fist. '3 points!'

He then quickly released the jellyfish with care. Nature shouldn't be tampered with.

S-S-S-S-S

Far away an observer of the jellyfishing competition wrote down on his notepad.

'SpongeBob: 3'

SpongeBob so far was leading the game. He and Patrick get 1st and 2nd place almost all the time, the fruits of countless experiences in the sport. Other than those two, competition with other players were tough.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick stood on top of a large purple rock.

He looked down at a large group of jellyfish. The pink creatures swarmed near a hive.

Patrick leaned foward carefully.

He clapped his hands together while still holding the net.

He took a deep breath.

Patrick dived in to a pool of jellyfish.

He bounced on top of the jellyfish for a bit. It lightened his fall.

The jellyfish quickly scurried away from him.

THUD

"BUZZZZZZZ!" The jellyfish became irritated at Patrick. They aimed their stingers.

Z-Z-Z-ZAAAP!

Electricity exploded from their stingers, contacting Patrick's back.

"Ow!" Patrick jumped in pain. Four red bumps popped out of his back.

Patrick spun like a spinning top. His face contorted in utmost concentration, afraid of being stung again.

SWIPE

He caught a jellyfish.

Patrick couldn't catch anymore as the jellyfish prepared for another electric attack. It was a futile situation.

Patrick dove out of the way and ran.

He spent a few minutes running.

He then released the jellyfish.

Sweatdrops fell from his brow. He panted.

Other players ignored them, they recognized and familiarized themselves with each other. They were well aware of each others' tactics of catching jellyfish.

S-S-S-S-S

The chaotic frenzy of the sport infested the fields.

Newbies swiped frantically to catch their first jellyfish.

Experts waited at specific locations to take the floating creatures by surprise.

They were oblivious to nearly abandoned locations.

S-S-S-S-S

A wasteland of sand piles.

The squirrel was fascinated to see such anomalies on the sea floor.

"That's weird. There wasn't anything like this yesterday. An' now they're everywhere. A ridiculously huge amount of ocean must've been displaced for this to happen."

She was in deep sleep when half an hour ago the reef blower exploded and created a giant tsunami.

After some walking she could see cliffs of purple rock ahead of her. Grass laid on the summit of the cliffs. Some jellyfish could be seen above.

"Must be the place." She grinned.

The squirrel walked to the bottom of a cliff.

She digged into the pockets of her suit.

She took out some sort of scanner gun.

She looked at the screen and locked onto the rocky surface of the cliff.

A green laser popped out and scanned the materials targeted.

S-S-S-S-S

A ravenous giant clam navigated through the sand piles.

It hadn't eaten in days and this made the clam extremely cranky and aggravated. It was isolated from the rest of its group due to its arduous hunt for food.

The clam was also yearning for battle.

It noticed a squirrel in an astronaut suit innocently inspecting a cliff with a scanner.

It had hallucinations from starvation.

It thought she was fresh prey.

GRRRRRRRR

It charged rapidly.

S-S-S-S-S

STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP

She turned around from the loud stomps and her eyes widened.

She put the scanner away and got in a karate stance.

Her eyes narrowed as a giant clam charged ever closer to her vision.

S-S-S-S-S

A strange jellyfish floated about in the grassy plain. Mindlessly wandering alone.

SpongeBob was crouching behind a bush of tall grass. He was watching the creature with the eyes of a hawk. He fumbled in his pockets for something. SpongeBob found a telescope and closely inspected the jellyfish with zoomed vision, particularly at the stingers of the jellyfish.

"Wow, four stingers. Now that's rare!" He whispered loudly and grinned. Excited at the fact that an opportunity such as this was given to him.

He put the telescope away.

He took out his jellyfishing net.

SpongeBob quietly emerged from his hiding spot.

The sponge began to jog with quiet steps. He maintained his speed so as to not disturb the jellyfish.

Both of them wandered around the fields for a moment.

SpongeBob was a foot away from the jellyfish.

He leaned forward and tip-toed.

He stretched out his arm. He slowly inched the jellyfishing net closer and closer…

The rim of the net was centimeters away from the jellyfish.

The jellyfish suddenly made a u-turn to another direction.

SpongeBob's bent his legs within a second.

He leapt.

The net swiped down.

The jellyfish got caught in the net…

but his shoe stepped on the rim.

SpongeBob tripped.

The jellyfish quickly bolted out and away from his grasp.

THUD

He fell face first to the ground.

SpongeBob quickly got up, his absorbent skin healed any pain quickly. The small victory in catching the rare jellyfish for a mere second in time was barely satisfying for SpongeBob.

*sighs* "At least I was close." SpongeBob twirled his net. "There's always tomorrow." Disappointment diluted with hope and he quickly smiled again. Prepared for any unexpected challenges awaiting him.

As he took a step…

he heard the rapid snapping of a clam. There was also the sound of someone struggling to avoid the attacks.

SpongeBob jolted. "Uh oh." He quickly looked at his surroundings. Empathetic concern enveloped him in mind and body.

He noticed a cliff that lead down to sand piles and non-grass ground.

SpongeBob quickly sprinted to the edge and peered below. He found the source of the distressing sounds.

He was awestruck.

S-S-S-S-S

The clam opened it's mouth wide and lunged.

The squirrel reverse-jumped and avoided the attack. She hopped again in less than a second and flipped over the clam. She kicked mightily with her metal boot at the clam's rear.

The clam winced for a second and quickly turned around. It then jumped.

It rocketed high in the air.

A shadow formed above the squirrel, the clam was trying to flatten her down.

She dived.

A plume of sand erupted. The clam shook and regained it's senses. It lunged once again with more force.

The mammal karate chopped the clam's mouth shut.

The clam vibrated from the force and was paralyzed momentarily.

SMACK

The squirrel slapped the clam across the face. The clam spun rapidly.

She then made a hand-stand and kicked the clam with both feet.

The clam flipped while soaring in the air towards the cliff.

S-S-S-S-S

A shell-like missile was heading uncomfortably close to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob went wide-eyed.

*gasps*

He dove out of the way as the clam hit the cliff.

CRRASSH

A few pieces of purple rock fell from the cliff.

Cracks on the cliff formed around the clam.

The giant clam teetered down and began tumbling.

A pause.

SpongeBob went back and looked down once again as the clam succumbed to gravity.

He was curious about the strange land animal far below him.

"Hmmmm. Where have I seen this before?"

SpongeBob took out a 'Field Guide' book from his left pocket.

He flipped the book open and skimmed with flying pages. Meanwhile he paid attention to the land animal's physical looks.

His finger stopped at a page. "Here it is!"

There was a picture of an animal looking exactly like the one below the cliff and there was a name above it. SpongeBob read the name out loud.

"Land squirrel." He closed the book and put it away.

He noticed that the clam's fall is aiming directly at the squirrel and she could be crushed in any second. He sweatdropped. "That little squirrel is in trouble. I gotta help her."

He carefully stepped over the cliff's edge. Using as much courage as he can muster.

A deep breath.

He jumped and slid down the cliff like a sled.

His eyes trained on the squirrel, his limbs prepared to tackle the squirrel out of the clam's path.

The clam made a crash-course down the cliff below SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

Rocks and dust spread as the clam's tumbling nearly ended.

The squirrel ran towards the clam.

POW

She buried the clam in the sand, making sure it was unconscious.

The clam stopped on the ground, barely moving.

"Take that, you sorry old clam! Y'all need to learn some manners!" She begun to walk away from the scene. "You're about as ugly as homemade soup."

SpongeBob slid down smoothly from the cliff and stood up. He was surprised and relieved that the situation took care of itself without him. "Hooray land squirrel!"

"Why, hello there sea-critter." The squirrel turned around and noticed SpongeBob. She smiled.

RRRRRRUUUUUMMMMMMMMBBBBLLLE

A pause.

Both of them went wide-eyed.

The clam erupted out of its sandy coffin.

A cloud of smoke rose in the air.

All three of them were temporarily blinded.

The clam scanned the area for a bit until it noticed a certain shadow.

Grrrrrrrrrrr

It prepared its jump accordingly.

The sand cleared.

SpongeBob noticed the clam behind the squirrel and his face went pale.

At that instant the clam made a mighty jump.

Its jaws opened.

A shadow enveld the squirrel. She looked around desperately.

"LOOK OUT!" SpongeBob screamed to the top of his lungs.

However, it was too late...

GULP

The clam swallowed the squirrel.

SpongeBob's jaw dropped and he stared in horror.

S-S-S-S-S

The squirrel was trapped in a moist dungeon full of saliva. The digestive acids would soon break her down if she doesn't escape.

She quickly went to action. As a skilled martial-artist, such obstacles won't crush her quickly.

The squirrel did mighty punches and kicks on the roof of the clam's mouth.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob watched as the clam struggled to keep its mouth shut. Mighty impacts could be heard from inside its mouth. The land squirrel was fighting for her life. This was no time for SpongeBob to be idle and do nothing.

"Hold on, little squirrel!"

SpongeBob made a karate yell.

He ran quickly towards the clam.

The clam carefully eyed SpongeBob.

SpongeBob jumped.

He soared in the air.

The sponge tilted his body just right.

He made a beeline for the clam.

He soared down.

SLAM

Time slowed.

SpongeBob fiercely damaged the clam from the velocity of his impact.

The clam shook in pain and struggled to linger in his trapping of the squirrel. It is only a matter of time before the clam loses his stamina.

SpongeBob's spongy skin made him bounce to a random direction.

At equally high speeds.

Time resumed.

SpongeBob bounced off a nearby rock.

SMACK He bounced off the clam.

He bounced off the cliff.

POW He bounced off the clam.

BAM

SMACK

POW

BASH

BAM

SMACK

POW

BASH

The sponge was a yellow bullet across the field.

The clam was constantly assaulted.

Plop!

SpongeBob landed on the ground. 'I think that's enough. Don't want to hurt the clam too much.'

He faced the clam.

The clam did not open his mouth.

SpongeBob took a deep breath.

"I'm gonna have to use brute force." He whispered to himself.

The sponge charged towards the clam.

The clam was walking in circles, still heavily dizzy.

SpongeBob tackled the clam.

He flipped over the shell.

He stood on top of it.

"You have fought well, giant clam. Prepare to be vanquished! Hai!" He prepared his hands.

SpongeBob grabbed the mouth of the clam. He was going to pry it open.

"RRRRGGGGGGHH!"

His skinny arms ached from trying to open the clam. SpongeBob was struggling,

"RRRRRRRGGGGGGGGH!"

The mouth was slowly but surely giving in. SpongeBob was surprised at his potential.

"Hey! I'm actually doing it!" He tried harder in his effort of freeing the squirrel.

He tried harder in his effort of freeing the squirrel.

S-S-S-S-S

The squirrel was pushing the roof of the mouth.

Light came from the slowly expanding opening.

She concentrated in her effort to free herself.

S-S-S-S-S

The clam's mouth jerked up.

It revealed that this whole time it was the squirrel that was prying open the clam.

SpongeBob flew up in the air.

He looked down.

He winced.

The sponge rocketed down to the sea floor.

He gently landed on the sand.

"Whew."

He saw that the squirrel was still escaping from the clam.

'Time to finish this.'

"Your shell is mine!" He charged towards the clam. He pulled up his pants.

The clam's mouth was still open due to its dizziness.

SpongeBob dove inside the clam's mouth.

He strangled what he perceived to be the apparent weak point of the clam, the tongue.

SpongeBob looked back to check on the squirrel.

The squirrel was looking at SpongeBob, outside the clam's mouth. She already escaped.

The clam shut its mouth and darkness seized SpongeBob's vision.

"Hehe. Ummm... Is this bad?" Sweat ran down his brow. Unlike the squirrel, he set up his own trap.

S-S-S-S-S

"Hold on there, little square dude!"

She ran towards the clam.

She grabbed the mouth.

The squirrel pryed open the clam once again to reveal a trapped SpongeBob.

SpongeBob dove out of the mouth.

The squirrel released the clam.

SNAP

The clam's mouth snapped back shut.

The squirrel backed away from the clam.

After a certain distance she ran back towards the clam. Charging at a high speed.

She made a mighty kick.

POW

The clam soared in the air and towards the distant horizon. It was whimpering while it was airborne.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary just finished watching the TV special of his favorite show 'Wild West'. He quickly surfed through channels until he came upon the local channel 'Bikini Bottom News'.

It showed the usual reports of crime and strange events that often plague such local stations when there isn't much to report. This went on for a few minutes.

Abruptly...

_"Breaking news!"_ The previous reporters were switched to Johnny Erain, the famous realistic fish head known throughout Bikini Bottom. 'BREAKING NEWS' appeared in red text above.

_"A group of aggravated giant clams have been wrecking havoc throughout Bikini Bottom. Several eyewitness reports have stated that the giant clams targeted dumpsters and destroyed trash bags in their search for food. Some eyewitnesses even state that the clams chased them and tried to eat them. Animal Control couldn't find the giant clams in time and the clams seemed to have moved to the outskirts of Bikini Bottom. Authorities have stated that citizens shouldn't go to places that are near or just beyond the city limits, such as Goo lagoon or Jellyfish Fields."_

After watching the whole thing, Gary wondered about SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

"Ew." SpongeBob stood up and brushed the saliva off him.

The squirrel walked to him to check if he was injured.

The sponge didn't have any bruises, he was unscathed.

"Hey, you like karate too!? I saw all the moves you did. I've never seen someone that good before!" SpongeBob was marveling at the squirrel.

"Hehehehehe. Of course I like karate."

"Okay. Watch this."

SpongeBob performed bizarre karate poses. A futile attempt to impress the squirrel.

The squirrel tried to suppress her giggles.

Eventually SpongeBob did a pose with a hand-stand.

His weak arms wobbled.

He landed on his head.

SpongeBob unceremoniously teetered over and fell with his back against the ground.

He stood up. His attempt of impressing the land dweller failed.

"So, uhh, what's your name?"

"Sandy! So what do y'all call yourself?"

SpongeBob ran towards a large rock.

He ran up to the summit and jumped down.

"I'm SpongeBob!"

He landed on his butt. Some sand flew in the air.

"Well SpongeBob, take a gander at this."

Sandy walked to the same rock SpongeBob ran on.

GONNNNNNGGGGG

She slapped the rock.

SpongeBob watched.

A pause.

CRRRRKKKKK

Cracks appeared on the rock's surface.

CRRRRUUUUMMMMMBBBBLLLEEE

The rock crumbled to pebbles.

SpongeBob stared in wonder.

"Can ya beat that?" Sandy smirked.

"O-oh yeah? Watch this!"

SpongeBob raised his arm. He was preparing to pull off an amazing pose.

An awkward pause.

Sandy raised her brow.

SpongeBob put the arm under his armpit and did pulled off a-

TOOT

"Hahahahahaha." Sandy was laughing. "I like you, SpongeBob. Why, we could be tighter than bark on a tree. Hi-yah!" She karate chopped the air.

"Uh, I like you too, Sandy. Hi-yah!" SpongeBob tripped on a pebble and hit himself. "Ow. Say, what is that thing on your head?" He pointed at the air bubble Sandy was wearing.

"Why that's my air helmet." She tapped the glass bubble.

"May I try it on?" SpongeBob was curious about the alien substance named 'air'.

"Heck no. I need it to breathe. I gotta have my air."

"Me too! I love air! Air is good." The sponge's curiosity grew further, he wanted to attempt to breathe air for the first time.

"No kidding?" Sandy was highly skeptical about SpongeBob's claims.

"Why, 'air' is my middle name! The more air, the better! Can't get enough of that air." His enthusiasm flowed out of his words.

"Shee-oot. How about coming over to my place for tea and cookies then?" Sandy took out a paper and pen and wrote down her address. She gave it to SpongeBob. "Don't be late."

"Okay, c'ya."

They parted ways.

SpongeBob looked at the written address. It wasn't too far from his home.

S-S-S-S-S

The giant clam collapsed to the ground, still whimpering.

A group of giant clams was witnessing the event.

A plume of sand rose.

A pause. Deep silence.

The plume dissipated.

The group walked to the fallen clam and inspected its condition.

The clam sustained several bruises and injuries on its shell. Just like the unfortunate clam the group was starving and also just like the clam they failed to find food.

The horde of clams immediately turned to face the direction where the clam soared from.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The group seethed with rage to avenge their injured member.

They ran towards the horizon in pursuit.

Soon they vanished from being viewable.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick walked out of a medium sized tent . Lotion was spread across the injuries from the stinging jellyfish. The tent was a healing station for people stung by jellyfish. Patrick is a frequent visitor since every other day going to the fields he gets stung by a jellyfish at least once.

The burning bruises were now minor obstacles that can be brushed aside.

With jellyfishing net still in hand, Patrick walked across the fields mindlessly. He stayed clear of large crowds and explored more empty parts of the area. It helped him clear his mind to a blank slate.

The flat ground suddenly bented up into a steep slope.

Patrick continued to walk forward without difficulty, he felt a bit adventurous.

First his pointy pink head then the rest of his body was viewable at the summit.

And that summit was a cliff.

Below Patrick saw SpongeBob talk to Sandy. After a few seconds Sandy gave SpongeBob a piece of paper.

SpongeBob was looking at the paper.

Abruptly, a

RRRRUUUMMMMMBLE

sailed through the air.

Five purple specks in the horizon entered Patrick's vision.

"Oh look. Scallops."

Patrick sat down.

And tripped on a rock in the process.

CRASH

SLAM SMACK THUD

Patrick violently collapsed down the slope of the cliff.

His mouth was drooling, he was so zoned out that he didn't feel any pain.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Sandy watched the purple specks far away from them.

RRRRRRUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMBLE

The sound grew louder as the entities came near.

Slam!

SMASH

SMACK

THUD

Patrick landed between SpongeBob and Sandy face-first.

SpongeBob gasped. "Patrick!"

The sponge lifted Patrick to a standing position. Patrick shook his face back to his normal senses.

"And who's this pink star?"

"This is my best friend Patrick. We're also neighbors."

"Oh. I see."

"Umm...SpongeBob...uhhh...is this your new friend?" Patrick was confused at the sight of the squirrel.

"Yep. I just met her, she's really good at kara-"

A giant clam pushed Sandy out of the way. Her body twirled towards the cliff.

A group of five giant clams entered the battlefield.

SpongeBob winced.

"Hey, more friends. Looks like they want to play." Patrick thought the clams didn't have hostile intentions.

SpongeBob facepalmed. *sighs* "Patrick the-"

Another clam knocked SpongeBob off his feet and tripped him face-first to the ground, he fell with a loud THUD.

A clam behind Patrick swallowed him.

GULP

"Why's it dark?" Patrick was bewildered inside the clam's mouth.

The clam aimed towards the sky.

It spat Patrick straight up like a geyser.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!" The sea star enjoyed the fatal flight.

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy leaned her boots to the ground.

SCREEEECH

She was inches away from the cliff.

"Looks like the clam had buddies with him." The squirrel dashed to the clam that pushed her.

She jumped and raised her hand.

The clam jolted in surprise.

Sandy closed in.

She made a mighty karate chop.

The clam spun like a dreidel and deflected the hit.

Sandy spun for a few seconds.

The clam bit her arm and threw her to the side.

"Oof." Sandy quickly got up.

She dove and kicked low.

The clam jumped over her leg and opened its mouth.

Sandy ran out of the way.

The clam ate some sand. It spat some of it out.

The squirrel acrobatically flipped behind the clam and kicked just below its rear.

The clam spun in the air.

Sandy made a flurry of punches and kicks.

After taking some hits and going back several feet, the clam spun in another direction to deflect the hits.

Sandy's limbs and the clam turned to blurs.

Sandy punched low.

It severely impacted the clam and made it soar to the sky.

She chased after the clam.

The clam soared back down to the earth.

Sandy jumped and did a 360-kick on top of the clam.

CRRRAASSH

A crater of sand formed below the clam.

The clam took a deep breath and blew at the ground.

A huge plume of sand was created.

"Huh? Where'd you go?" Sandy was blinded by the dust cloud.

The clam jumped over Sandy and landed on top of squirrel.

The clam suddenly shook in pain.

Sandy made a flurry of kicks below the clam.

KAPOW

She did a kick with both feet.

The clam landed upside down.

Sandy ran toward it to finish it o-

A clam bit her leg and she flew in the air.

SLAM

SLAM

SLAM

SLAM

SLAM

The clam repeatedly ragdolled her to the ground. Sandy tried to block every impact.

The clam eventually threw Sandy like a ball towards the clam she was previously fighting,

As Sandy flew through the air, the clam opened wide to swallow Sandy.

Sandy fell down to the lips of its mouth. She spread her legs as much as possible.

CLANK

Sandy pushed her legs apart to prevent the clam's mouth from closing.

The clam struggled to swallow the squirrel, Sandy's boots made this even more difficult.

The clam that threw her ran towards the scene to help the other clam swallow her.

S-S-S-S-S

For a second, Patrick experienced zero-g.

Gravity eventually took control of Patrick and he fell down.

"Woo hoo!"

He was directly above...

...another clam.

The clam below didn't notice an incoming sea star above him.

THUD

Patrick landed hard on the clam.

The clam became heavily frightened and didn't know where the impact came from.

It jumped and looked at different directions.

It panicked and ran extremely fast to chase the unknown attacker off him.

"Yippee! Giddy up horsey!" Patrick grabbed the upper part of the clam's mouth as if taking the reigns of a horse.

He steered the anxious clam towards another member of its brethren.

"Let's see how your friend's doing."

Patrick's clam charged straight forward.

The clam ahead of him turned around.

It jolted.

CRRASSH

Patrick's clam severely impaced the other clam.

The force of the impact made it soar in the air.

SLAM

The clam directly hit the cliff.

The mollusk slowly teetered over.

THUD

It didn't move, it was unconscious.

S-S-S-S-S

The two clams attacking Sandy were distracted by the loud sound of the clam collapsing.

A pause.

"Now's my chance." Sandy whispered as she attempted to jump out of the clam's grasp.

Not too far from her location Patrick was still merrily riding the other clam.

S-S-S-S-S

Several seconds later...

S-S-S-S-S

Eyes opened.

A body rose up.

Hazy colors, figures, and silhouettes.

Two yellow hands rubbed the eyes.

SpongeBob regained consciousness and witnessed the scene unfolding before him.

Far ahead of him a clam laid unconscious from a heavy blow towards the cliff. To the left Sandy was caught in the middle of a clam's mouth. Another clam was walking towards the other clam to assist it but both were distracted by something else. That something else was Patrick riding on a clam running wildly in different directions.

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

A shadow enveloped SpongeBob.

He slowly turned around and nervously smiled. "Hehe." Sweat ran down his brow.

GRRRRRRRR

A giant clam stood before SpongeBob.

SNAP

The clam opened and closed its jaws with force.

"Yikes!" SpongeBob quickly jumped out of the way.

The clam pounced.

PLOP

The only thing it crushed was air.

SpongeBob was running for his life. He was hyperventilating.

The sponge was too worn out from fighting the previous clam. The odds of surviving this new onslaught was against him. His friends also struggled with dealing with the large crowd of clams. SpongeBob would have to pull off a miracle to fight this new giant clam.

The clam ran faster to catch up with SpongeBob.

They entered a forest of sand piles, far away from the cliffs.

SpongeBob furiously turned left and right so as to lose the clam.

A snake of sand plumes followed his heels, the clam was catching up to him no matter the obstacle.

SpongeBob began panicking.

He jumped.

Landed on a sand pile.

Plop!

He repeated this and decided to traverse the sand jungle in this way.

Plop!

Plop!

Plop!

Plop!

SpongeBob jumped from hill to hill so fast it looked like he skidded in the air.

The clam decided to put more force to each step it took.

The ground shook from each step.

RRRUMBLE

SpongeBob struggled to stay balanced each time he landed on a hill.

'What am I gonna do now? That nasty clam is going to catch up with me sooner or later.'

Doubt and fear sprouted in SpongeBob's thoughts.

Each jump he took became more unstable.

The clam abruptly stopped.

"Hm?" SpongeBob's hopping slowed somewhat. He tried to look behind him.

The clam scooped up some sand with its mouth.

SpongeBob frantically hopped his way through the hills to find a mystical, futile escape.

The clam aimed up.

PTOO

A large missile of sand dashed through the air...

...and hit SpongeBob in the back.

Time slowed.

Sand encased SpongeBob's back.

His feet slipped off the sand pile.

His face showed an expression of horror.

His body collapsed to the ground.

The sand pile collapsed with him.

His vision was covered.

All was black.

S-S-S-S-S

A long pause...

S-S-S-S-S

The clam slowly walked to the newly made sand pile.

It dug its way through the sand.

The sand gave way to uncover a motionless body of a sponge.

SpongeBob had fainted.

The clam grabbed the body with its mouth.

Only SpongeBob's head and arms sticked out.

The clam dragged the body at a quick pace back to the other clams.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick continued to ride the frightened clam. Unaware of the fights taking place or the seriousness of the situation.

"This is more fun than jellyfishing!" Patrick was enjoying the 'ride', deeply absorbed into his 'fantasy land'.

Until from the corner of his eyes he saw two dangling yellow arms.

"Horsey stop!" Patrick pulled the upper part of the clam's mouth.

SCREECH

The clam stopped moving.

Patrick looked to his right side.

SpongeBob was being dragged by one of the clams. His face was in a cold expression, devoid of his signature smile or joy that usually appears in his eyes or mouth.

*gasps* "SpongeBob! You okay there buddy?"

No response.

More dragging.

"SpongeBob? Hello? It's your best friend Pat!"

No response.

More dragging.

"Are you sleeping? Wake up! That clam is stealing you!"

No response.

More dragging.

"HEY CLAM!"

The clam holding SpongeBob turned to face Patrick.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO SPONGEBOB?!" Patrick began to lose his temper.

"GRRRRRRRRR" Was all the clam responded.

Since Patrick was a sea creature, he knew what the clam said.

'Back off. This food is going to be my dinner.'

Patrick's face began turning red. He tightened his hands to fists. Steam poured out of his head. Rage consumed his soul.

"NO ONE HURTS MY BUDDY!"

Patrick slid off the clam.

He ran toward the other clam.

His eyes looked murderous.

His footsteps were like those of giants.

The clam holding SpongeBob winced and shook in fear.

WHACK

Patrick made a mighty uppercut.

The clam flew in the air for a bit and collapsed to the ground shortly.

SpongeBob was dropped to the ground.

Patrick ran towards SpongeBob.

"You're safe with me." He hoisted SpongeBob on his shoulder.

WHAM

Patrick punched the clam.

The clam flew to the area of the cliff.

Patrick followed the clam.

S-S-S-S-S

SLAM

Two clams collided.

They flew to the cliff.

CRASH

The two were piled up with the previous one.

All three were knocked out.

Sandy and the clam restraining her watched.

"How are these clams getting beat up?" Sandy was confused.

S-S-S-S-S

A typical Jellyfishing enthusiast strolled along the cliffs. He was quenching his thirst for adventure.

"This is awesome. So many people don't come to these parts and see the beautiful mountains and cliffs. As a matter of fact..."

He looked below the cliff.

And saw three unconscious giant clams. He also saw Sandy trapped between the jaws of another clam.

"Neptune almighty! It's those killer clams from the news!"

He took out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. He was panicking.

A pause as he listened.

"I-I'm seeing three knocked out giant clams and a-another one attacking a land animal. I think they're th-those clams from the news. I swear to Neptune I'm not making this up!"

A pause as he listened. An electronic gasp was heard.

"I'm in Jellyfish Fields. Far in the mountainous part of the region. It's taking place right below a cliff."

A pause as he listened.

He put the phone away.

S-S-S-S-S

Several trucks in downtown Bikini Bottom had their engines revved up.

They all had the label 'BIKINI BOTTOM ANIMAL CONTROL'.

The vehicles zoomed down the road at high speeds.

S-S-S-S-S

"Don't worry buddy, I'll beat up the rest of them." Patrick laid SpongeBob down somewhere safe.

The sea star ran towards the clam trapping Sandy.

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

A shadow enveloped him.

A clam from behind bit his arm.

"Ow!" Patrick winced.

He was lifted to the air by the clam that he hitched a ride on.

WHAM

POW

SMACK

Patrick used his other arm to punch the clam.

The clam opened its mouth and reeled in pain.

S-S-S-S-S

She watched Patrick's attack on the clam.

A lightbulb lit up in her head.

'I got an idea.'

Sandy looked down and saw the clam's tongue.

She grabbed and pulled the tongue with the strength she could muster.

The clam whimpered.

Its mouth opened.

Sandy landed on the ground, still holding on to the tongue.

The squirrel lifted the clam to the air and swung it like a lasso.

She swung and swung and swung,

and released the clam.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick was about to lift the clam up like a wrestler when...

SLAM

An incoming midair clam slammed with the clam Patrick was dealing with.

They sailed in the air for a moment.

Like a boomerang they went back to the cliff.

CRASH

They collided with the other fallen clams.

A pile of unconscious mollusks were silent under the cliff.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick and Sandy stood there for a moment, exhausted from their accomplishment.

"I don't wanna see those clams again." *sighs* Patrick was a bit upset.

VRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM

SCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHH

A group of Animal Control trucks arrived at the scene.

At that moment SpongeBob woke up.

"Huh? What happened?" He noticed the trucks nearby and the knocked out clams. He also noticed that his friends were spared. "Phew." He walked back to his friends with relief. He feared the worst during his trip in darkness.

Several officers walked out of the trucks.

"Wow. Looks like someone made the job easier for us."

"Maybe those three did it."

"Don't you think the square and yellow one is familiar?"

"Oh yeah! That guy's the Krusty Krab's new fry cook."

The officers proceeded to put the clams in their trucks.

"Good job you three. I hope you aren't too injured because you saved a lot of people from being hurt and saved their trash as well."

"Aw shucks. It was nothing." Sandy seemed flattered.

"What people? What trash?" Patrick was bewildered by the vague context of the officer.

The officers then laughed for a few seconds.

"Well this is interesting. It seems that we're missing one clam. However, I don't think that clam is gonna come back to Bikini Bottom after the whooping it received."

Once they put all the clams in the trucks they drove away.

VROOOOOOOOOOOMM

The trucks disappeared in the horizon.

"Gotta go back to work, c'ya later SpongeBob."

"Ok. You too Sandy."

SpongeBob and Patrick walked back home.

Sandy continued to scan the cliff.

S-S-S-S-S

Half an hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was significantly hot that day. Patrick was laying on top of his rock; tanning. He was wearing sunglasses.

Squidward was flattening down the sand piles with his shovel. He was sweating excessively from the difficult labor. He was doing this ever since the reef blower exploded. "Nothing more could worsen my Sunday..."

"Patrick! Patrick! Patrick, Patrick, Patrick!"' SpongeBob ran out of his pineapple. Squidward became irritated and groaned. "What's air?" SpongeBob halted, he was below Patrick.

"Huh?"

"Didn't you notice the squirrel wears a hat full of...air!"

"Do you mean she puts on 'airs' ?" Patrick didn't really understand what SpongeBob said.

"I guess so."

"That's just fancy talk. If you want to be fancy, hold your pinky up like this!" Patrick holded his pinky up as in example. "The higher you hold it, the fancier you are!"

SpongeBob holded his pinky up. It wasn't that high however. "How's that?"

"Higher!"

SpongeBob holded his pinky up as much as possible. "Like that?"

"Now that's fancy! They should call you SpongeBob FancyPants!" Patrick took off his sunglasses and put them away. He slid off the rock. "Since your ready, let's head over to her place. But don't make that 'I'm Ready' chant when you get there, it's not like your going to work."

*giggles* "Okee-dokee Pat."

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

"Remember, when in doubt, pinky up! You can do it, SpongeBob. I'll be watching."

The two were in front of the treedome. SpongeBob had a bouquet in his hands to leave a good impression on the squirrel. Obviously, SpongeBob had his pinky up.

"Thanks pal." SpongeBob grinned.

DING DONG

SpongeBob rung the doorbell.

"Hello?" Sandy's electronic voice could be heard.

"Hi-ya, Sandy. Its me, SpongeBob!"

"Hold on a sec, I'll let you in."

The door was unlocked.

SpongeBob walked in.

Patrick made a thumbs up and walked to the side of the treedome to watch.

SpongeBob was whistling as he waited for Sandy to open the next door.

The door shut behind him.

Then the water began to drain above him.

SpongeBob stopped whistling and looked up.

Before he knew it, all the water was sucked out and he was dry.

"Sandy! Sandy! Open up! Sandy! Sandy!" SpongeBob desprately banged on the door.

Sandy opened the door and allowed SpongeBob inside. She was in her usual undergarment apparel.

SpongeBob fell down on the floor and flopped like a fish.

An awkward pause.

SpongeBob stood up,

"Sandy, something's gone terribly wrong. There's no water in...here." He scanned the inside of the treedome, it was nearly devoid of any water in sight. He saw plants and animals that don't normally live in the sea.

"Course there's no water. Nutin but air." Sandy brushed SpongeBob's comment off since she was a land creature.

"No water?" SpongeBob waved his hands and smelled the air to get a good feel of this new form of oxygen.

"That ain't a problem, is it? Hi-yah!" Sandy karate-chopped the air.

"Problem?" *laughs* "Hi-yah!" He did a karate-chop. "That's how I like my air!" *gasps* *coughs* His eyes became surrounded by black circles. His body wasn't prepared for this much lack of moisture. "With no water." His voice was hoarse.

"Well, alright. I made Texas tea and cookies. Well, come on in! Hi-yah!" Sandy did a karate pose and cartwheeled to get the food.

SpongeBob struggled to lift his foot up. For a few seconds his leg was unstable as it was lifted in the air.

He managed to put his foot down and make a step...

...only by an inch.

"That's not in. In!" Sandy called SpongeBob and signaled him to walk towards her.

SpongeBob barely managed to move another inch.

"You're a funny little dude. Come on, I'll give you the grand tour. " Sandy ran and took SpongeBob's hand. She dragged him along.

Due to the dryness, the place seemed to be exponentially hotter for SpongeBob. His spongy skin dried up and began to crack.

SpongeBob and Sandy stopped in the center of the treedome.

"This is my own private little air bubble. This air is the driest... "

SpongeBob struggled to breathe.

" ...purest..."

SpongeBob struggled to breathe. What Sandy was saying seemed to worsen his condition.

"...most airiest air in the whole sea. Oh, over there's my birdbath." She pointed at a birdbath where a few robins were playing and chirping in.

SpongeBob's eyes widened at the sight of the birdbath. That was his ticket from dry hell to wet salvation.

"And that's my oak tree." She pointed at the oak tree. SpongeBob took a few steps behind her so as to quickly sneak to the birdbath, any means were necessary at this point since SpongeBob was running out of options to stay moist. He was patient and waited until an excellent opportunity arose.

"It provides me with extra air. This dome is made of the finest polyurethane, that's a fancy word for plastic. Ain't that just the bees knees? Tell you what, weren't easy getting here neither. First, I..." Sandy rambled on.

SpongeBob briskly ran and dove into the birdbath.

SPLASH

He absorbed all the scarce amounts of water. The robins became irritated.

The sponge jumped back to his spot without Sandy noticing. He smiled at his success.

"...that's my treadmill. That's how I stay in tip-top shape. Well, come on. Lets have that tea now." Sandy did more karate moves and went to fetch the tea.

KNOCK KNOCK

SpongeBob turned to his side, he saw Patrick watching him from the glass sidelines.

"Pinky! Pinky!" Patrick pointed at his pinky.

SpongeBob suddenly remembered what to do, he holded up his pinky.

Patrick made an 'okay' sign.

SpongeBob walked over and sat on a picnic table.

"I brought you some flowers." He shakily lifted up the bouquet.

Sandy was just about to enter her tree.

"For me? How sweet." Sandy grasped ahold of the bouquet but SpongeBob struggled to let go. His fingers were trapped in a firm hold of the flowers. Sandy pulled the bouquet free from SpongeBob's hand. The dry sponge fisted and lowered his hand. "You ok?' Sandy showed concern over SpongeBob's condition.

"Yes, I'm OK." He snapped out from daydreaming about water.

"You know, you're the first sea critter to ever visit."

"I can't imagine why." SpongeBob shuddered a bit after thinking of the fate of the previously visiting sea creatures.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Water would be nice."

"I'm gonna to put these in a vase." Sandy went to fetch a vase.

"Take your time." SpongeBob turned his attention to the door.

SpongeBob stood up from the table.

He slowly and shakily walked to the door, the dryness of the air was now intolerable and overwhelming.

His dry hands gripped the handle of the door.

A pause.

SpongeBob struggled to open the door.

"Rghhhhh! I gotta get out of here! Aaaaahh!"

His arms heaved and SpongeBob was quickly losing strength.

He felt like he was spinning due to the severe dehydration.

His mind wandered...

"I like you, SpongeBob. We could be tighter than bark on a tree!" Sandy said.

SpongeBob tried to search through his thoughts...

"When in doubt, pinky up." Patrick put his pinky up as an example.

A light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's mind.

He lifted his pinky up without shaking his limb. His face turned stoic and fire burned inside his eyes.

"I don't need water! Water's for QUITTERS!" SpongeBob turned straight around and marched back to the picnic table. His pinky remained in the air.

"I DON'T NEED IT! I DON'T NEED IT! I DON'T NEED IT!" His chant preserved his passion.

"I don't need it, I don't need it..." The chant died down. His confidence returned to that of before.

He sat back down.

"Why, these flowers are just beautiful!" Sandy smelled the aroma of the flowers, she was impressed with SpongeBob's gift. "They'll last much, much longer in a vase full of ice, cold water."

Sandy put a vase full of water and some ice cubes on the table. She put the flowers in the vase.

SpongeBob was absolutely captivated by the vase. The watery goodness contained within the vase tempted SpongeBob to drink it.

"So tell me about yourself." Sandy sat down across from SpongeBob. "It must be fascinating being a sea critter."

A drop from the vase dripped.

A pause.

SpongeBob was silent and kept staring at the vase.

"SpongeBob?"

DING

A timer in her kitchen went off.

"Oh, there's the cookies." She stood up and walked once again to her oak tree, "Be right back."

'I don't need it, I don't need it, I definitely don't need it.' The temptation of the vase increased exponentially. This would be a true test of SpongeBob's willpower. The sponge's features worsened dramatically. He was as dry as a yellow brick.

'I don't need it... I don't need it... I don't need it...' SpongeBob was denying his extreme thirst in his mind.

"I... don't... need... it..." His thoughts transferred to speech.

Several drops of water dripped from the vase.

SpongeBob reached his limit and lost his mind.

"I NEED IT!"

He grabbed the vase and took out the flowers.

"No, SpongeBob! No, no, no, stop! Pinky! Pinky!" Patrick was panicking behind the glass. He pointed as his pinky.

GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG

SpongeBob drank all the water from the vase. He felt refreshed.

"I'M A QUITTER!" SpongeBob announced his failure.

He then thought of what Sandy would do if she found out what happened to the vase.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" SpongeBob ran in circles and panicked.

'I gotta do something...' Patrick thought behind the glass.

The sea star ran to the door to the treedome and opened it. Fortunately, Sandy forgot to lock the doors.

The water was drained above him as he was in the hallway between the doors.

He ran to the next door and opened it.

SLAM

"You can't leave now! You'll blow it!" Patrick put his hand on SpongeBob's shoulder.

"Air is not good, Patrick! Air is not good!" SpongeBob walked to the door and tried to open it.

"You're just being shy. Don't worry, buddy. You're doing fine." Patrick took SpongeBob off the door. He was oblivious to SpongeBob's predicament.

"I wont let you blow...this." Suddenly, the dryness began to take effect. Patrick's muscles weakened and his skin dried up of its water. The sea star realized the foolish mistake it had made.

He dropped SpongeBob, he was now just as strong as the sponge.

Patrick fell to the ground. He struggled to get up. He began coughing.

SpongeBob watched.

A pause as Patrick struggled, the coughing became louder.

On wobbly legs, Patrick finally stood up.

"WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS THIS?!" The sea star limped to the door. "There's no water in here!"

The handle of the door didn't budge.

Patrick's effort didn't pay off as he used all of his strength to twist the handle.

"I tried to tell you!" SpongeBob joined the futile struggle and tried to help Patrick.

"We've got to get out of here!" Patrick's voice became hoarse.

"You're.. doing it... wrong..." The painful task of opening the door became more difficult due to Patrick turning the handle the other way,

"Wait, no! We've got.. to get... out..."

Their vision began to fade.

It was so dry that their skin felt like it was on fire.

The two fell to the ground.

They were almost blind by the time their bodies rested on the grass and dirt.

SpongeBob and Patrick were unable to move their limbs; they were paralyzed.

Patrick was still conscious when he noticed SpongeBob wasn't moving or shaking.

SpongeBob's body was dead still, eyes closed.

"Of... here... " Patrick managed to say his last words.

He also fainted.

S-S-S-S-S

CREEEAAAK

Sandy opened the door. She walked outside.

She was holding a tray of tea and cookies.

"Come and get it! Y'all gonna like this..."

She walked over to see two unconscious bodies of SpongeBob and Patrick.

*gasps*

She dropped the tray.

Sandy ran back to her tree.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy was using a hose.

She filled two goldfish bowls with water.

The squirrel put the two bowls on SpongeBob and Patrick's heads as if they were helmets.

She turned the hose off.

Sandy waited.

A long pause...

Slight shaking...

Slow blinking...

Their limbs moved...

SpongeBob and Patrick stood up. They gasped for fresh breaths of water.

They saw the hose in Sandy's hand.

The sponge and sea star looked at the squirrel with eye contac.

"She saved us." Patrick marveled at Sandy.

"There, that ought to do it! If y'all needed water, you shoulda asked." Sandy smiled.

SpongeBob and Patrick grinned.

On the picnic table was a new tray of tea and cookies.

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy took one cup each.

"I propose a toast, to new friends!" Sandy began drinking.

C-CLINK

SpongeBob and Patrick were unable to drink. The helmets got in the way.

"Hold on a second." Sandy took out two tea bags and put them in SpongeBob and Patrick's helmets. "I hope you like your tea strong. Drink up!"

Patrick put his pinky up as he drank.

'I thought I was a goner.' SpongeBob put his pinky up as well. Relieved that he had been saved from suffication.

All was peaceful.


	4. Bubblestand

**Chapter 4: Bubblestand**

* * *

SpongeBob was sitting down with Gary, the two were watching football on TV. SpongeBob was decently refreshed after visiting his new friend Sandy. He decided that there was nothing better to do in the pineapple but to spend time with Gary.

Gary had trouble hearing the television as SpongeBob kept blabbering on about his visit in the treedome and the fight he had with the clams. The snail was patient and kept replying as if he was listening and paying attention, he was the most well-equipped out of all Bikini Bottomites when it comes to dealing with SpongeBob.

After a while SpongeBob went off-topic with his conversation and ventured to other things.

"I've always been wondering what you do at home. Even on weekends before I became a Krusty Krab employee, I always hang out with Patrick."

"Meow."

"Got friends too? It's uncommon to see you talking to another snail. Hehe. What am I saying? It's even more uncommon for me to take you on a walk."

"Meow." Gary was doing this mindlessly now, it was almost subconscious.

"For some reason when I leave your leash in the garage, I always have trouble finding it. Which is why I don't take you on walks so much. As a matter of fact, that garage is cluttered up from head to toe with stuff. I never seem to find the time to get rid of the junk or make them useful."

"Meow. Meow." Gary nodded his head.

SpongeBob scratched his chin. Deep in thought.

A pause.

"Hmm... maybe I should check the place out right now. I've freed some time after doing my obligatory jellyfishing." At that, SpongeBob grinned.

He stood up and walked out of the living room.

Gary relaxed and enjoyed the game.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward got up from his couch. He took a nap after the unpleasant and excruciating work of removing the sand piles.

His vision went from hazy to clear.

*yawns* "Let's hope this Sunday doesn't get any more miserable than it already is."

He walked up the stairs towards the music room. The sheets of his finally completed song in his hand.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened the door and entered the garage.

"What to do... what to do..." He scrambled through the piles of useless and abandoned stuff.

A hammer was poking out from one of the piles.

SpongeBob picked it up.

"I could build something nice with this. But still.. I don't know what to build." SpongeBob continued to scavenge throughout the garage.

For once, SpongeBob was actually bored. The fight with the large group of clams and his close encounter with dehydration in Sandy's treedome drained him of much energy. He was trying to find something to do for the rest of the day.

SpongeBob stepped on something.

He looked down.

There was a small bottle of liquid soap and a bunch of bubble wands lying on the floor.

He picked them up.

Memories of bubble blowing surged through SpongeBob. It has been a while since he last performed that peculiar hobby.

He also remembered that he bought the wands and bottle of soap recently.

"How much did that cost?" SpongeBob's mind wandered off.

He took out a spare quarter from his pocket and tried to remember the price.

"Oh yeah! That bubble set costed 50 cents."

A pause.

He looked at the hammer.

He looked at the bubble set.

He looked back at the quarter.

A light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's head.

He put the stuff he was holding to the floor.

He scrambled through the junk of the garage.

He found a large piece of yellow wood and smaller pieces of green wood.

He searched some more.

He found a paintbrush and a closed bucket of red paint. There was also a small piece of paper on top of the bucket.

Nearby was a small box of nails,

SpongeBob gathered all the items he found into one pile.

He carried it out of the garage.

SpongeBob closed the door.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward took a deep breath to clear his thoughts.

He put the sheets of his written song on the sheet holder.

He took the clarinet from the holder.

He tested out the clarinet so that it didn't play awkward notes.

S-S-S-S-S

**SLAM**

SpongeBob kicked the entrance of his pineapple open and smelled the fresh air of the oceanic bottom.

"Ahh, it's a wonderful day. The sun is out, the water is shimmering, scallops are chirping. So peaceful."

SpongeBob set down the materials.

He opened the bucket of paint.

He dipped the brush in the paint.

He wrote in red paint on the large yellow piece of wood: 'BUBBLES 25 CENTS'

He took the small piece of paper and folded it.

SpongeBob wrote 'LESSONS 25 CENTS'

"Now everyone can experience the joy of bubble blowing for half the price."

He put the piece of paper down.

He grabbed the hammer.

He took out the nails.

**CLANK**

**CLANK**

**CLANK**

**CLANK**

**CLANK**

Extremely annoying sounds of construction sailed through the air.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward jolted.

He marched to the window and looked out, he had a decent guess at who made those loud sounds.

"Can we lower the volume, please? I can't work with all that racket going on!" He tried to scream louder than the loud sounds of construction.

SpongeBob jolted. He stopped.

He faced Squidward who was above him. He made a grin

"Oh, sure thing, Squidward." SpongeBob was compliant.

"Yes. Mmm. Right. Mmm." Now satisfied, Squidward no longer looked out the window.

S-S-S-S-S

"Ok." SpongeBob quietly spoke.

The basic foundation of the wooden stand was already built.

SpongeBob inserted another nail.

He aimed the hammer carefully.

Clank

He gently tapped the nail with the hammer.

SpongeBob quickly looked towards the tiki's windows. A bit worried about disturbing his neighbor.

Squidward wasn't watching.

"Phew." He repeated the quiet and slow process of building his new stand.

S-S-S-S-S

"And now…" Squidward adjusted the sheet holder. "For some soothing sounds from Squidward's clarinet." He bowed to an imaginary crowd, a sign of his potential future. "Thank you, thank you."

The clarinet spat out off-tune notes, proof that Squidward's 'talent' was in the realms of fantasy.

The awful notes reverberated throughout the music room.

The sounds sailed through the windows.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob halted mid-way through lightly hammering the nail. He winced and bit his lip as he heard Squidward play his clarinet.

"Gee, I feel bad for Squidward. People might make fun of him if they hear him playing..."

A pause,

Both of his arms blurred as he **CLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANK**ed.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward suddenly went on a very high note as he stopped playing his clarinet.

His face contorted and he covered his ears from the deafening construction sounds.

"Why I oughta…" He marched to the window. His face showed an expression of extreme grumpiness.

Squidward looked out from his window.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob finished building. He was sweating.

He took a deep breath to regain all the lost air.

S-S-S-S-S

"**I THOUGHT I**…..wha?" Squidward was baffled at the sight he was looking at.

SpongeBob stood behind a bubblestand, the fruits of all his labor. He was going to venture out to the field of entrepreneurship.

"Hey, Squidward! Wanna blow some bubbles? Only 25 cents." SpongeBob looked up to face Squidward, potentially reeling in his first customer.

"Oh, right. Like I would spend a moment of my time blowing bubbles." Squidward found SpongeBob's business to be insignificant to his situation. Easily dismissing an opportunity to try something new.

"Uh huh!" SpongeBob nodded and smiled.

"Oh, puh-lease! I mean, who in the world would pay to blow bubbles?"

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick was in the kitchen.

He was searching through his refrigerator for a snack when he heard construction going on outside.

"Hmm... I wonder what's going on outside..." Patrick became curious about the sounds he heard.

He jumped up to the ceiling.

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

He jumped out of the rock.

**SLAM**

The rock closed.

Patrick saw the bubblestand.

"Hey SpongeBob, what did you bu- woah!" The sea star tripped and fell.

"Oh, boy." Squidward wasn't amused.

SpongeBob lifted Patrick up to his feet. "Why hello there, sir. Would you care to blow a bubble?"

"Hmm, how much is it?" Patrick seemed curious about SpongeBob's new 'business'.

"Only a quarter." SpongeBob smiled.

"Sounds reasonable." Patrick digged into his pockets. However, they were empty.

An awkward pause.

"Uh, I'm going to need to borrow a quarter." Patrick whispered.

"Sure thing, Patrick. It wouldn't hurt for me." SpongeBob gave Patrick a spare quarter, letting the sea star slip past the radar.

"Ah, one quarter." Patrick gave the quarter to SpongeBob. "One try, please."

SpongeBob carefully eyed the quarter, inspecting it. He also bit it to make sure it was legit. "Thank you."

Squidward kept watching the scene. "Hmm, business is booming." He then made a laugh by nose honking. "How did I ever get surrounded by such loser neighbors? Uh huh." He faced away from the window.

Squidward walked to the front of the sheet holder.

He commenced the Neptune-awful playing.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob took out a bubble wand and a small bottle of bubble soap from the stand.

Patrick was watching.

SpongeBob opened the small bottle. He dipped the wand in the soap. "One bubble wand, dipped and ready to go." SpongeBob proudly announced. SpongeBob extended the hand holding the bottle and wand to Patrick's direction.

Patrick took out the wand.

Patrick took a deep breath, preparing himself to make a bubble.

SpongeBob was captivated in suspense, assuming Patrick was going to blow a big bubble.

Patrick filled his mouth with air like a pufferfish.

Patrick made a mighty blow…

A pause.

The bubble in the wand didn't even come out of the hole.

Patrick panted.

SpongeBob was a little disappointed, his expectations weren't met.

Patrick prepared himself again.

He filled his mouth with air.

A pause…

He blew hard….

The same result, no bubble floated out of the wand.

"Maybe you need a little help." SpongeBob walked to the stand.

Patrick was out of breath by then.

"This is too hard." He walked to the bubblestand where SpongeBob was.

Patrick gave back the wand to SpongeBob, giving up.

"Could I interest you in some lessons? Only 25 cents." SpongeBob pointed at the 'LESSONS 25 CENTS' sign.

"Uh, very well, then. Hey, Sponge, can I borrow another quarter?" Patrick rapidly blinked his eyes and tried to look innocent.

"Okee-dokee, Pat." SpongeBob handed Patrick a quarter.

"Thanks." Patrick winked, he tossed the quarter back to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob quickly caught it and put it back in his pocket.

"Okay, Patrick, it's all in the technique!" SpongeBob walked close to Patrick so his moves were clearly visible. He was holding the wand Patrick gave.

"First go like this, spin around." SpongeBob spun like a tornado.

Like a student, Patrick watched the routine.

"STOP!" SpongeBob stopped spinning.

"Double take three times. One, two, three." SpongeBob constantly eyed his surroundings three times as he said that.

"THEEEN PELVIC THRUST!" SpongeBob then made a pelvic thrust as stated. "Whoooo!" He glided in the air, then stopped. "Whooooooo!" SpongeBob made a longer glide.

He landed slowly.

"Stop on your right foot, DON'T FORGET IT!" SpongeBob landed on his right foot. He pointed at his right foot to show emphasis.

Patrick nodded, constantly paying attention. He was fascinated by the strange dance moves SpongeBob was making.

"Now it's time to bring it around town. Bring-it-a-round-town." SpongeBob's body spun around his feet, which were staying in place. He did this for a few slow seconds.

"Then you do this, then this, and this, and that, and-this-and-that-and-this-and-that." SpongeBob made poses in lightning-fast succession.

It was a bit difficult for Patrick to take in. He memorized the poses to the best of his ability.

"And then…" SpongeBob elegantly blew on the wand.

Air easily passed through the hole. A bubble was formed.

The bubble took the shape of a duck.

The transparent duck flew in the air slowly.

"Ooooooh." Patrick marveled at SpongeBob's feat.

The duck popped high in the sky.

Beyond Patrick's attention, SpongeBob blew a box.

Patrick noticed the bubble. He giggled.

"That's nothing. Watch this." SpongeBob blew on the wand again. The sponge got carried away with his lesson.

A large caterpillar bubble came out of the hole in the wand.

"Aaaaaah!" Patrick marveled at the transparent caterpillar.

The serpent-like bubble gently cut through the air.

Eventually one of the bubbles of the caterpillar popped.

The rest followed suit, making louder and louder sounds as more bubbles popped in unison.

Patrick giggled even harder, almost to the point of laughing. SpongeBob himself suppressed a giggle.

"I could do better." SpongeBob smiled, proud of his weird talent. He blew on the wand.

A massive boat came out of the wand and floated in the air.

Patrick was silent as the boat rose up to the sky.

Soon, the bubble made a grand **POP!**

A loud foghorn noise could be heard.

SpongeBob and Patrick were laughing.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was still playing when he heard a loud foghorn noise. His eyes widened a bit.

"Huh?" Squidward shook the contents of the clarinet. "Maybe I didn't clean the insides enough."

He inspected the clarinet.

Meanwhile…

S-S-S-S-S

"And now... with two hands!" SpongeBob stretched his fingers.

He grabbed the wand by both hands from the ground.

SpongeBob took a very deep inhale. His mouth was filled to the brim with air.

Patrick's eyes widened, the suspense was killing him.

SpongeBob leaned his head back.

A pause.

He blew…

Miraculously, a giant elephant came out of the hole in the wand.

Patrick was laughing at the sight of the ridiculous bubble. "It's a giraffe!" The sea star wasn't that bright that day.

The bubble elephant turned towards Squidward's tiki's direction. It floated towards that destination.

"Uh oh." SpongeBob immediately frowned.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was pleasantly playing his clarinet. He was close to finishing.

A giant bubble elephant was viewable from both glass 'eyes' of the tiki.

The octopus jolted, he stopped playing. "You gotta be kidding me." He froze as he watched in surprise.

The elephant passed through both windows. Its physical form gave way with a mighty

**POP!**

A multitude of bubbles came from the windows of the tiki. Inside, Squidward was assaulted by the tiny pops of the bubbles.

He waited until the surrounding air was clear.

Squidward put his clarinet on the sheet holder.

He stomped downstairs with his fists clenched.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick watched the magnificent end of the bubble.

**SLAM**

Squidward opened the door with force, heavily annoyed.

"Yikes!" Patrick yelled.

SpongeBob and Patrick dove behind the bubblestand.

SpongeBob opened a bucket of paint and dipped the brush in it.

He took the 'LESSONS 25 CENTS' sign.

On the other side of the paper sign, he wrote 'CLOSED' in red paint.

SpongeBob put the sign on the bubblestand, the 'CLOSED' side was facing outward.

Squidward marched to the stand.

SpongeBob and Patrick shook and sweated in fear.

Squidward looked over the stand, the undersea duo were in obvious view.

"Excuse me, sir, but we are clo-" SpongeBob made eye contact with Squidward.

"Don't give me any of that! How can you two possibly make all this noise just blowing bubbles?!" Squidward was almost screaming.

"We're not just blowing bubbles, we're making bubble art! Watch carefully." SpongeBob had the courage to stand up. Patrick got comfortable and stood up as well.

SpongeBob was in front of Squidward so he can demonstrate.

"First go like this, spin around." SpongeBob spun rapidly, he was a yellow tornado.

"Stop!" SpongeBob halted. "Double take three times. One, two, three." He eyed his surroundings three times.

"Theeeen PELVIC THRUST!" SpongeBob made a pelvic thrust. "Whoooo!" He glided in the air then landed. "Whooooooo!" He glided in the air again but tried to land slowly.

"Stop on your right foot, DON'T FORGET IT!" SpongeBob landed on his right foot. He pointed to the foot.

"Now its time to bring it around town. Bring-it-a-round-town." SpongeBob's body spun around his feet. The feet were in place during the slow spin.

"Then you do this, then this, and this, and that, and-this-and-that-and-this-and-that." SpongeBob made poses in quick succession.

Squidward's brow was raised the whole time. 'He's acting like a total idiot.'

"And then…" SpongeBob gently blew on the wand.

A bubble butterfly formed from the wand.

It gracefully flew in the air.

The bubble landed on Squidward's head as if it was a real butterfly.

**POP**

The butterfly disappeared.

"How's that?" SpongeBob was optimistic.

"That's not art. That's just annoying. Blowing bubbles, that's the lamest idea I have ever heard. " Squidward folded his arms.

SpongeBob and Patrick frowned. They looked upset.

"Pat, maybe we should go to my place to do something else. I don't want to bother Squidward."

"Okay…" Patrick said slowly and painfully.

"That's more like it. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

**CRRREEEEAAAAK**!

SpongeBob was closing the door.

Squidward was laughing to himself. "Bubbles." More laughing. "Art." He looked from the corner of his eye.

He saw the wand and small bottle of soap still remaining on the stand. Surprisingly, he became curious.

Squidward walked over to the stand. He picked up the wand and dipped it in the bottle.

The octopus sniffed the wand. A strong smell of soap assailed his nostrils.

He inhaled to blow…

SpongeBob was watching from the small opening of the door. He gasped.

"That'll be 25 cents, sir." SpongeBob ran over to Squidward.

"Ah, whoa, what?" Squidward was caught by surprise. He saw SpongeBob standing behind him. "Oh... wh-who would pay 25 cents to blow bubbles?"

"We also offer lessons for beginners." SpongeBob flipped the sign from 'CLOSED' to 'LESSONS 25 CENTS'.

"Beginners? What could be more simple than blowing a stupid bubble?" Squidward was still narcissistic. He fetches out a quarter. "Here's your 25 cents!" He gives the quarter to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob bit the quarter, it was real.

"Watch and learn." Squidward made a deep inhale, his mouth was filled with air.

A pause.

Squidward blew…

Nothing came out of the wand, Squidward was just as good as Patrick in bubble blowing.

"Uhh... wait, wait, wait." Squidward wasn't going to give up that time.

He put a quarter on the stand.

He took a deep breath.

A pause.

He made a deep inhale, his mouth was full to the maximum limit with air.

He blew…

Nothing came out of the wand.

"One more time. Here. Wait." Squidward gave another quarter to SpongeBob.

Another deep inhale.

His head leaned back.

He blew with all his might.

A small bubble came out of the hole in the wand.

Squidward smiled at his success.

The tiny bubble quickly fell to the ground. It **POP**ped with a raspberry sound.

Squidward frowned, he was irritated.

At this point Patrick came out of the pineapple and was also watching.

Squidward looked up at SpongeBob and Patrick.

The two gulped.

They both started whistling as if they were not paying attention.

*groans* Squidward put a quarter on the stand. "Uhh... Just a mere warm-up." Squidward dipped the wand in the small bottle.

Squidward made one of the biggest inhales he has ever done.

His face turned red from the pressure.

He leaned his face back.

He blew to his limit…

Another small bubble came out of the wand.

It landed and **POP**ped on the ground.

A raspberry sound.

*sighs* Squidward put another quarter on the bubblestand.

"Hey, Squidward, remember the technique." SpongeBob felt pity for Squidward and wanted to help him.

Squidward refused to listen. He kept attempting to blow a normal sized bubble.

SpongeBob and Patrick surrounded the octopus. Making the weird routine poses so Squidward can remember them. While doing that both of them yelled "Technique! Technique! Technique! Technique! Tech- "

Squidward glared at them.

"You're not doing the technique." SpongeBob spoke quietly. He was a little nervous.

"Technique." Patrick unnecessarily emphasized.

"Technique? Technique!? Technique, technique, technique, technique, TECHNIQUE!" Squidward had enough of the agonizing torture. His determination went up exponentially.

He imitated SpongeBob's 'technique' for bubble blowing.

"First I do this, spin around." He spun just as fast as SpongeBob did.

"Stop." Squidward stopped spinning. "Double take three times." Squidward carefully eyed his surroundings three times as stated.

"And here we go, pelvic thrust. Wehooooo!" Squidward made a pelvic thrust and glided in the air. He landed. "Wehoohoo!" Squidward made an even longer pelvic thrust.

"Oh, stop on your right foot, don't forget it." Squidward immediately landed on his right foot.

"Then, bring it around town." Squidward's body spun while his feet stood in place. He mirrored exactly how SpongeBob did it.

"And a little of this, a little of that, a little of this, this, this, this, that, that, that, that. And that, that, that that that that!" Squidward made strange and crazy poses faster than SpongeBob did.

"Way to go Squidward! You got it!" SpongeBob smiled and cheered Squidward on. He was making a golf clap while watching Squidward's performance.

Patrick joined in the clapping.

"And then…" Squidward made a deep inhale, his head looked like it was going to explode.

A very long pause…

"**DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Squidward screamed into the wand as if he was a dragon blowing out fire from his mouth.

A colossal bubble squeezed out of the wand.

The giant bubble soared up in the air. Taking the wand and Squidward in tow with it.

Soon the wand was released from the bubble.

Plop!

Squidward landed on his rear.

"Woooow!" SpongeBob and Patrick were awestruck as the bubble sailed in the air.

A long pause…

The duo focused their attention back to Squidward.

"All right, Squid!" SpongeBob jumped in the air. "That was so good!"

"Squid is number one!"

"I really did it, didn't I? Hey, you guys didn't blow anything like that?!" Squidward was in disbelief at his now unleashed talent.

"No." SpongeBob solemnly stated.

"Now that's a bubble!" Squidward slowly opened up and smiled.

"You said it, Squidward. See, it is all in the technique!" SpongeBob knew he was correct all along.

"Yeah, technique." Patrick still cheered on.

"Technique? Hah! SpongeBob, you don't think I created that" Squidward kissed his hand. "beautiful work of art with your help?" He laughed for a few seconds. "Come on, its in my genes." Squidward showed a bit too much pride in his hidden talent, reaching to borderline arrogance.

"Squid's got genes! Squid's got genes!" SpongeBob and Patrick chanted.

Squidward went back to his tiki.

He walked upstairs.

He went to the music room.

He took the clarinet.

He was wearing a smirk the whole time he walked back to his home. His grumpiness from moments ago seemed to have vanished from his face.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Squidward had an actual audience this time. He started to play the clarinet.

"Squidward! Squidward! Squidward! Squidward! Squidward!" SpongeBob and Patrick were still chanting.

The musical notes flew out of the tiki as Squidward played.

"Squidward! Squidward! Squidward! Squidward! Squidward!"

SpongeBob and Patrick belly flopped each other.

Patrick collapsed in an awkward manner while SpongeBob remained standing.

Squidward was looking out his window.

"I rock." Squidward then resumed to playing his clarinet.

S-S-S-S-S

The bubble Squidward had made was left unattended.

It slowly flew towards Squidward's tiki.

The giant bubble made contact with the building.

**PLOP**

The bubble enveloped the tiki.

As the bubble flew in another direction, so did Squidward's tiki.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward didn't notice that he was being lifted off the surface at a moderate speed. He was extremely focused on making an excellent performance with his clarinet.

*gasps* "Squidward!" SpongeBob saw what happened.

Patrick stopped chanting. He immediately saw the event unfold as well.

"SQUIDWARD! SQUIDWARD! SQUIDWARD!" They were screaming in unison but it was no longer a chant. They now sounded panicky.

SpongeBob and Patrick were attempting to call Squidward.

"Hello, my friends. You are looking at a…" He paused his speech as he looked down.

SpongeBob and Patrick were yellow and pink dots on the sea floor as they screamed "**SQUIDWARD! SQUIDWARD! SQUIDWARD! SQUIDWARD!**".

"...genius." Squidward facepalmed.

S-S-S-S-S

The bubble stopped soaring up at a certain point in the aquatic atmosphere.

A pause.

It leaned to the left and flew past SpongeBob and Patrick's neighborhood.

It was slowly descending as it flew left.

"We gotta save Squidward, Pat!" SpongeBob showed extreme concern for Squidward's safety.

"But how are we gonna get him without hurting him?" Patrick used his brain for a moment.

SpongeBob thought of how they were going to pop the bubble at a safe location.

"I got that covered." SpongeBob took out a spare wand. He winked.

SpongeBob and Patrick ran after the giant bubble.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward sat in the music room. He was looking out the window.

He noticed that the yellow and pink dots below were following him.

"This Sunday is pretty much over. So long, satisfaction and happiness." *sighs*

Before Squidward even noticed, there were several buildings and streets below him.

S-S-S-S-S

A mother and son were strolling on the sidewalk.

It was rush hour and streets were congested with vehicles. Many people were coming back from work while others were driving around for other reasons.

The pedestrians of the area were oblivious to a floating bubble and tiki high above them…

... except for one little boy.

"Mommy, there's something weird in the sky."

"Hm? Where is it?"

"Up there." The son pointed at the bubble in the sky. "Don't you see it?"

The mother squinted her eyes as she tried to locate the object, the bubble was a bit difficult to see.

She soon saw the bubble and the tiki inside it.

"What in the world is that?"

"I don't know mommy. What do you think?"

"Must've been those bubble blowers. They probably made a stunt by blowing large bubbles. Nothing to worry about."

The two resumed to strolling.

Abruptly, SpongeBob and Patrick flew past the mother and son.

"Mommy, what was that?" The little boy was once again curious.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were running frantically to stay at the same pace with the bubble.

They avoided all sorts of pedestrians and obstacles.

The two needed to find a way to reach the bubble.

As they were running the bubble stopped and hovered above a certain building.

**SCREEECH**

SpongeBob stopped running and came to a halt.

"Pat, look!" SpongeBob pointed up.

**SCREECH**

Patrick stopped and looked up.

RIght above a building was an idle bubble with a tiki inside it.

"Yes!" Patrick pumped his fist. "Let's save Squid!"

Patrick ran towards the building recklessly.

SpongeBob put a hand in front of Patrick. "Woah woah woah woah!"

Patrick stopped running. "Huh? What's wrong?"

SpongeBob pointed at the heavy traffic between them and their target, the building was across the street.

"Oh... Ummmm…."

A pause.

"...what do we do now?"

"We have to jump across the street and climb up the building."

A light bulb lit up in Patrick's head. "I got it! SpongeBob, hold on to my back."

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob clinged to Patrick's back.

Patrick backed away from the street.

"I hope you don't mess this up." SpongeBob sweatdropped. He knows that Patrick might make a blunder and create disaster.

Patrick dashed forward.

SpongeBob struggled to cling on.

He leapt.

They safely flew across the street.

Gravity took control.

They came down.

**BOING**

His belly landed on the other sidewalk.

SpongeBob and Patrick went straight up the building.

**THUD**

They landed on the rooftop. Right below the bubble.

"Good job, Pat!" SpongeBob got off Patrick's back. He smiled.

Patrick stood up. "Only one more thing to do."

SpongeBob faced the bubble. "Don't worry Squidward! We're gonna save you!" He took out his wand.

"All in the technique." Patrick inappropriately tried to make a joke. He still didn't have the intelligence to understand the seriousness of the situation.

SpongeBob giggled a bit.

S-S-S-S-S

"Heh. Those same morons are trying to save me. Maybe I will try to forget this incident once this is all over." Squidward saw what Patrick and SpongeBob did outside the window. He had mixed feelings of grumpiness and relief.

He waited for SpongeBob to do his magic.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob cautiously walked towards the bubble.

Just like how Squidward's wand got stuck on the large bubble as he blew it. SpongeBob was going to stick the wand on the surface of the bubble and guide it back home.

Just as he inched his wand closer and closer to the bubble...

A light breeze settled in.

The bubble quickly accelerated and was out of SpongeBob's grasp.

"Tartar sauce! Now the bubble is getting away! C'mon Patrick! We gotta catch up."

The bubble flew away from them.

It was flying aimlessly.

SpongeBob thought for a moment. "Pat, can you bounce from building to building?"

Patrick made a thumbs up.

SpongeBob clinged to Patrick's back.

Patrick jumped and dived down the side of the building.

S-S-S-S-S

The bubble was no longer in the downtown section.

'So much for trying to save me.' Squidward was sitting cross-legged on the floor and leaned on his hand, still looking out from the window.

S-S-S-S-S

A rattling chain.

A dark green worm with a collar labeled ' ' was roaming around a yard.

The chain on its collar connected to a place near the entrance of the home.

And that home was a large anchor. It had windows, a door, and a balcony. Like SpongeBob's pineapple, a simple object was transformed into a dwelling. The home would be most appropriate for a sailor.

**CRRREEEEEAK**

Mr. Krabs opened the door and walked out to his front yard. It made total sense that he owned the property.

He was carrying a bag of the cheapest worm food he could find. His cheap tactics went far beyond the Krusty Krab.

"Chow up." Mr. Krabs tossed the food.

Mr. Doodles began to eat the worm food.

Mr. Krabs then pondered about other things.

'I have high expectations for this Spongelad. Starting tomorrow I'm be going to have profits like never before!' Mr. Krabs giggled. Sunday was soon coming to a close and he was preparing for the next business week.

S-S-S-S-S

The giant bubble slowed down and floated around the anchor.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Doodles noticed this.

**"BARK! BARK! BARK!" **The worm thought the strange bubble was an invader.

"What is it, boy?" Mr. Krabs jolted slightly.

The crab looked up to where Mr. Doodles was facing.

"What in t'world be that?" Mr. Krabs was also confused. He scratched his head.

S-S-S-S-S

Both SpongeBob and Patrick stopped before the anchor. Their chase for the bubble was over.

They were somewhat surprised that Mr. Krabs owned an anchor and had a pet.

A pause.

SpongeBob snapped out of it.

He pulled Patrick's arm. "No time to waste!"

S-S-S-S-S

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this." Mr. Krabs walked back to his house.

"MR. KRABS! MR. KRABS!" SpongeBob was yelling and running towards the crustacean. Patrick was following him.

"Well if it isn't my newly hired lad. What's going on?"

"Can I enter your house? I need to reach that bubble!"

"You're responsible for making that bubble?"

"No but I gotta get it out of here! Someone's in danger!"

"Are you doing this for free?"

"No money necessary! We're running out of time!"

"Well, go right ahead!" Mr. Krabs smiled. "You're a way better employee than Squidward."

Mr. Krabs moved out of the way.

SpongeBob and Patrick ran inside Mr. Krabs' anchor.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob scanned the living room.

The living room was in just as poor condition as the Krusty Krab. The wood of the walls, ceiling, and floor was ancient. Relics from Mr. Krabs' pirate days were hung on the walls. A wooden stairway led to the basement and higher floors. An old-school television also rested in the room.

Once SpongeBob found the stairway he went upstairs.

Mr. Krabs followed behind.

Patrick took something out from under the entrance door. The sea star then ran and outsped .

Their feet blurred and rapid steps could be heard as they went up and up.

Soon everything became quiet.

A pause.

**CREEAAAAK**

There was ruffling.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute of running later...

S-S-S-S-S

A sweaty SpongeBob and Patrick reached the balcony. Mr. Krabs soon catched up.

SpongeBob took out the wand from his pocket.

He slowly walked towards the bubble.

Patrick was twirling something in his hands.

Mr. Krabs eyed what Patrick was holding. "What's that you got there?"

"Some metal-thingy that got stuck under the door."

Mr. Krabs widened his eyes. "Oh no."

"**BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK!"** An unleashed Mr. Doodles reached the rooftop. Still barking at the bubble.

Mr. Doodles viciously pounced the bubble, trying to take down the apparent invader.

**POP**

The bubble vanished and the tiki was left in midair.

**CLANK**

Squidward's tiki landed on the fence of the balcony.

**GRROOOOOAAAN**

The house teetered over the edge.

"SQUIDWARD!" SpongeBob screamed.

**CRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAASSSSSSH**

The tiki collapsed in front of the yard.

"Mr. Doodles! Bad boy!" Mr. Krabs scolded Mr. Doodles.

Mr. Doodles whimpered and went back downstairs.

"I'm gonna go check and see if Squid's okay." Patrick ran downstairs.

"Me too!" SpongeBob followed.

"Squid?" Mr. Krabs joined as well.

S-S-S-S-S

Shaking arms.

A rising torso.

Wobbly legs.

"Ngh."

Squidward was extremely dizzy. He suffered heavy injuries as his tiki crashed to the ground.

He had difficulty walking and kept colliding on the walls.

He found his way to the living room. The tiki landed on its side and made navigating the house a significant challenge.

The octopus was losing consciousness the more he walked. His vision was blacking out.

**SLAM**

A door opened.

"Hey! I found Squid!" Squidward heard the voice of Patrick.

His arms were grasped by strong hands.

Squidward was shaken furiously.

The octopus somewhat came back to his senses.

He hazily saw the face of Patrick, the sea star was smiling.

"Phew. Squidward's safe." A relieved SpongeBob was also looking at Squidward.

He heard the scrambling feet of a crab.

A silhouette looked out the doorway.

"I should've known better when they said 'Squid'."

Mr. Krabs walked towards Squidward.

The octopus bit his lip.

"This is coming out of your paycheck." Mr. Krabs pointed at Squidward.

Squidward didn't bother to make an expression. He was focusing on staying conscious.

Mr. Krabs walked out of the tiki.

Squidward raised his foot. He was going to attempt to walk.

However, when he put his foot down he nearly collapsed.

SpongeBob and Patrick grabbed on to him before he hit the floor.

The two helped Squidward up and assisted him in walking out of the tiki.

"W-what's going to h-happen to m-my house?" Squidward managed to speak.

"Don't worry Squidward. We've got that handled." SpongeBob winked.

Patrick patted Squidward on the back.

Squidward looked to his right.

He saw Mr. Krabs and Mr. Doodles entering the giant anchor.

His vision turned more hazy.

He could no longer cling to reality.

_"Uh...ward...yo...ay?"_

_"Snap...of it."_

Squidward struggled to hear what SpongeBob and Patrick were saying.

His vision blacked out.

He drifted off to some other realm.

He became unconscious.

"Uh oh." SpongeBob became nervous.

"Did Squidward just-" Patrick showed concern on his face.

"Wait. I'll check." SpongeBob checked Squidward's pulse. "Don't worry. He's alive."

"Okay... Uhhhh... what to do now?"

"Let's just take him back to our neighborhood first."

They carried Squidward away.

S-S-S-S-S

An hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward could faintly hear and recognize SpongeBob and Patrick.

He was laying on the ground.

A basic foundation was all there was left of Squidward's tiki.

"I want to bring Squidward with me!" Patrick pointed at himself and crossed his arms.

"How about we decide this by rock-paper-scissors."

"Very well."

SpongeBob and Patrick prepared their hands.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"Scissors."

"Shoot!"

They said in unison.

Patrick had a rock while SpongeBob had scissors.

"Best out of three!" SpongeBob boldly stated. Still having confidence in his abilities.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"Scissors."

"Shoot!"

They said in unison.

Patrick had scissors while SpongeBob had paper.

"It's settled." Patrick was victorious.

"Fair and square." SpongeBob smirked at his unintentional joke.

They giggled.

Patrick picked up Squidward and took him to his rock.

**CRREEEEEAAAK**

Patrick landed inside his home, Squidward was hoisted on his shoulder.

**SLAM**

"You're safe with me."

Patrick laid Squidward down on his bed. He tucked him in.

The octopus couldn't react during the whole incident.

Squidward once again became completely unconscious.

S-S-S-S-S

Several more hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

A light in the darkness of Squidward's vision.

A doctor was physically inspecting Squidward.

A pause.

SpongeBob was biting his nails.

"This fellow has suffered a severe concussion."

SpongeBob and Patrick winced. The two were surrounding the bed.

"However, it's mild enough to only require bedrest to heal. He should fully recover within 12 hours."

SpongeBob and Patrick were relieved.

"I believe that is all." The doctor packed his suitcase and opened the rock.

**CRRREEEAAAAK**

**SLAM**

He left the premises.

Squidward slowly opened his eyes.

"W-where am I?"

SpongeBob gasped and then smiled. "You're at Patrick's place."

"W-why did y-you leave m-me here? Is s-someone going to m-move my t-tiki back to its place?"

"I called some construction workers and they said that they have to repair the place first then move it back here. You will be living with Pat for about a week."

"D-dear Neptune." Squidward fainted.

An awkward silence.

"I guess I'm going now." SpongeBob bit his lip.

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob left the premises.

S-S-S-S-S

It was night.

SpongeBob looked at the abandoned bubblestand.

He grabbed the hammer.

**CRASH**

**SMASH**

**POW**

Pieces of wood soared in the air.

He tore the wooden stand down. Every second of it felt painful for SpongeBob.

**SMASH**

The hammer went still.

A long pause.

The bubblestand was now unrecognizable. It was just a pile of wooden rubble.

SpongeBob made a deep sigh. "If this means keeping Squidward safe." He nodded and walked towards his pineapple.

CRRReeeeak

Slam!

He quietly closed the door.

The seashell from earlier in the day flew off the ground of Squidward's former property.

It flew away from the neighborhood.

The gentle breeze guided the seashell in the night sky to distant lands.

S-S-S-S-S

Flick!

The lights in the bedroom were switched to off.

Gary was sleeping on the newspapers.

SpongeBob was in his pajamas.

He laid down on his bed and put the blanket over him.

His mind wandered on without his body.

SpongeBob thought of how he might take things too far when it came to his antics and end up hurting his neighbor Squidward. Even though it was Squidward who blew the bubble, it was SpongeBob who built the bubblestand.

However, the wind always picks up and the journey moves on. Like the seashell, SpongeBob has to get over where he was now and fly towards distant lands.

And that distant land is the Krusty Krab, where he will be working tommorow.

This suddenly reminded SpongeBob of a family member.

But the faint image of the memory faded as he closed his eyes.

He fell asleep.


	5. Ripped Pants

**I haven't warned you beforehand but I'm currently on a vacation with my family (unfortunately) to another country. Due to problems with logging in to my Google account and various distractions since it's a vacation and all of that, this chapter took longer to post than expected. I'm already writing Chapter 6 so that will be posted soon. **

**By the way, you won't be seeing these author's notes often.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Ripped Pants**

* * *

Six days later...

S-S-S-S-S

Saturday

6:00 PM

SpongeBob and Squidward were walking back home from the Krusty Krab.

SpongeBob was quiet, he was a bit nervous. The sponge was acting like this since the beginning of their trip to home.

Squidward didn't mind the silence and preferred SpongeBob being less talkative for once.

SpongeBob was going to say something he was preparing for all week...

He bit his lip.

He gulped.

SpongeBob opened his mouth.

"Um... Squid, about last week... I-I thought just saying sorry wasn't enough. Instead of apologizing, I wanted to take you to a place you would like to go. I'm planning to do it on Sunday which is tomorrow. I u-understand that the bubblestand incident was recklessness on my part. And I won't guarantee it won't happen again but I consider you a friend, Squidward, and as friends we should support each other. Since your house got wrecked from partly my fault I felt that taking you on a visit would be the best thing to do. No one likes their house getting destroyed and I am far more considerate than you think, Squidward."

Squidward's eyes widened. His jaw dropped somewhat. He was speechless. This was the first time in his life that he had seen SpongeBob act that way to him.

SpongeBob crossed his fingers.

"We'll discuss more about this trip on Sunday, SpongeBob. I'm too mentally exhausted from work today." Squidward made an excuse. He was caught off-guard by what SpongeBob said and he needed some time to get himself together.

"I see." SpongeBob nodded his head. "Another reason to take you on a trip." SpongeBob made a wide smile.

The two continued walking.

SpongeBob was thinking about what he could say next, but the ideal line never came.

Squidward enjoyed every second of this precious moment of silence. This only happens once in a lifetime when it comes to living with SpongeBob. However, as SpongeBob said, this was only temporary and the sponge will soon return to his annoying antics.

In the distant horizon they could see the three houses of their neighborhood become ever closer.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

KNOCK KNOCK

Squidward knocked on Patrick's rock.

**CRREEEEEAK**

The rock opened.

Squidward entered the home.

**SLAM**

The rock closed.

Patrick was punching and kicking the TV. The screen showed gray dust.

"What are you doing?" Squidward raised his brow.

"Fixing the TV." Patrick kept punching and kicking. As always, his mind was too primitive to understand the concept of fixing technology.

A pause.

Squidward folded his arms. "Better fix it soon. I don't want to hear that racket." He was only slightly annoyed. The octopus was used to most of Patrick's stupid behavior after living with him for the last six days.

The octopus walked to the kitchen.

He opened the refrigerator.

Inside solely consisted of bottled water and canned, processed meat. Squidward had no choice but to eat this for the past few days. After a while he developed a tolerance for the canned meat and it no longer tasted as repulsive.

Squidward took a can of processed meat and a bottle of water.

He searched through the cabinets in the kitchen.

He found a can opener and opened the can.

Squidward took a plate out from the cabinet.

He poured the meat on the plate.

The octopus took a spoon and sat down on a seat in the table.

He ate.

**POW**

Patrick made a final blow to the TV.

The gray dust on the screen vanished and instead showed Bikini Bottom News.

"I fixed it!" Patrick pumped his fist.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRREEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob entered his pineapple.

Gary was watching TV on the couch.

"How's it been, Gary?" SpongeBob greeted.

"Meow."

"I feel like I planned to do something right about now..."

"Meow. Meow. Meow."

A light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. "That's right! I was going to plan for tomorrow's trip!"

SpongeBob ran upstairs. The steps of his feet thundered on the wooden steps.

He entered his bedroom.

SpongeBob opened another door.

He slid down a slide.

SpongeBob entered a massive library. Numerous books were stored in several shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. There were a few ladders so SpongeBob can reach such ridiculous heights.

In the center of the room was a table and a chair. On the table was a rolled paper.

SpongeBob walked to the center and sat down. He rolled the paper open.

Revealed to him was a large map of Bikini Bottom and several cities. Various marks were made on several specific spots on the map, some of them were outside of Bikini Bottom.

SpongeBob went to a ladder and climbed it.

Mid-way through the height of the ladder, he stopped.

He picked up a moderately sized book. It was titled 'Best Places for Vacations/to Visit'.

SpongeBob slid back down.

He sat down again.

SpongeBob then consistently switched from reading the book to looking at the map.

S-S-S-S-S

A few hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick was laughing as he watched TV on the sofa.

Squidward was sitting next to him. He was finished with eating.

"This show is hilarious!" Patrick managed to say while laughing.

"Patrick, this show isn't supposed to be funny. It's just another artistic failure severely lacking in aesthetic taste that they call the news. "

"Uhhhhhhhh... What's art?" Patrick was heavily confused by the big words that Squidward said.

Squidward facepalmed. "Forget about it, Patrick. There's no hope for you."

Patrick shrugged his shoulders. He resumed to laughing.

Squidward stood up and walked to his bed.

He laid down on the mattress.

He put the blanket over himself.

A pause.

Patrick eventually got bored. He stopped laughing.

"This is boring..." Patrick took the remote and turned off the TV.

The sea star began to get drowsy.

He stood up.

Patrick walked to the light switch.

FLICK

Patrick flicked the light switch from 'ON' to 'OFF'.

Patrick went back to the sofa and fell asleep.

Squidward fell asleep as well.

S-S-S-S-S

The bedroom was dim.

Gary was sleeping on the newspapers.

SpongeBob slowly opened the door and walked into the dark room. He was finished with his planning for tommorow.

He laid down on his bed.

"Good night, Gar-bear."

He put the blanket over himself.

He fell asleep.

S-S-S-S-S

The three neighbors slept peacefully that night.

S-S-S-S-S

Sunlight shined through the window.

It was landing on SpongeBob's face.

SpongeBob was opening his eyes, he was aroused to wakefulness.

**HOOOOOONNNNNNK**

The foghorn went off.

Gary awakened from his slumber. He was drowsy as usual.

CLICK

SpongeBob turned off the foghorn. He yawned.

"Good morning, Gary!" SpongeBob said cheerfully.

"Meow." Gary meowed quietly.

"Since it's Sunday, I'm gonna go ask Squidward where he wants to go." SpongeBob opened a door and went downstairs.

Gary followed him.

SpongeBob and Gary entered the living room.

The sponge was walking towards the entrance of his pineapple when...

**RING RING RING RING RING**

SpongeBob's shell-phone went off.

"Oh! It might be Squidward!" SpongeBob ran to the phone and picked it up.

"Howdy SpongeBob! Is that you?" SpongeBob heard Sandy's electronic voice.

*laughs* "Of course it's me! What do you want?" SpongeBob made an eager grin.

"I thought we could hang out today."

"Where are we going?"

"Goo Lagoon."

A light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. "Can I bring my friends too?"

"Sure! Why not?"

*giggles* "When are you coming to Goo Lagoon?"

"In an hour."

"Okay. I'll come right over in an hour as well. C'ya later, Sandy."

"Bye SpongeBob!"

SpongeBob put down the phone.

"Better tell Pat and Squid." SpongeBob opened the door and exited the pineapple. The plans he had made yesterday were completely thrown out of the window.

Gary turned on the TV for his weekly dose of his favorite show.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked over to Patrick's rock.

S-S-S-S-S

Eyes slowly opened.

Squidward wiped his eyes to clear his vision, he woke up.

He got out of bed.

**CRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

The rock opened and closed.

SpongeBob entered the building.

Patrick got up from his couch. "Huh? Who's there?" He turned around and found a familiar sea sponge. "Hi SpongeBob!"

SpongeBob walked to Squidward. "Squidward, this might be very sudden but don't you think Goo Lagoon would be a nice place to visit?"

"I haven't decided ye-" Squidward pondered for a bit. "Hey... That's actually not a bad idea."

"You're gonna go? Are you sure?" SpongeBob was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Fine. Fine. I'll go."

"Yes!" SpongeBob pumped his fist and grinned.

"If it means having a nice day with my buddies then I'll go as well." Patrick smiled.

"Alright, we should prepare and get to Goo Lagoon in less than an hour. Another friend of mine is coming with us."

"Wasn't your friend that... squirrel? I think her name was... Sally?" Patrick had a difficulty with remembering what happened last week.

"Her name is Sandy." SpongeBob tried to correct Patrick politely.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember." Patrick's brain began to function normally.

"Sandy? I'll see how this turns out. I hope she isn't a goof like you two."

SpongeBob did his signature laugh. "Nope. She's a karate master, air-breather, and lives in a treedome."

Squidward scratched his head when SpongeBob said 'treedome'. "Anyway, shouldn't we prepare now?"

"On it." SpongeBob exited the rock and went back home.

"Only gather the stuff you need, NOT ALL items and furniture in sight." Squidward tried to state as clearly as possible to Patrick.

Patrick made a thumbs up and searched around the dwelling for things they needed.

Squidward assisted in the search.

S-S-S-S-S

Twenty minutes of preparation later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRRRRRREEEEAAAK**

SpongeBob opened the door.

He slowly walked step by step to the outside world.

**SLAM**

He closed the door.

SpongeBob was bare-chested and wore blue shorts up to right above his waist. His skin was completely clean due to taking a shower. Instead of shoes, he wore sandals. He was somewhat embarrassed to be showing his chest due to his child-like psyche but nonetheless he had enough confidence to walk around in public.

SpongeBob carried in his hand a bag consisting of sunscreen, a beach ball, water bottles, and other beverages such as soda or energy drinks.

Patrick's rock opened.

Patrick and Squidward came out.

The rock closed.

Patrick was wearing a green and purple floral pattern shirt along with his floral pattern pants. He also wore shades.

Squidward was wearing brown shorts which were darker than his brown shirt. In his hand was a novel and in a plastic bag were more novels and a few bottles of water. Like Patrick, he also wore shades.

SpongeBob walked over to his friends. "Looking good..." SpongeBob complemented their clothing. "So, we're all set?"

"Pretty much." Squidward folded his arms. "Can we quit stalling and go now?"

"Off we go!" SpongeBob pointed to the direction of Goo Lagoon and walked away.

Squidward and Patrick followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Forty minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

An orange sign said 'Welcome to Goo Lagoon'. A large beach was filled with numerous people.

"Well, this is the place." SpongeBob halted.

Patrick and Squidward stopped walking.

"Let's see if Sandy's here." SpongeBob scanned the beach.

Somebody walked and stood behind them. "Looking for someone?"

The three turned around.

"Howdy y'all!" Sandy was in front of them.

"SpongeBob, is she the friend you were talking about?" Squidward raised his brow.

SpongeBob laughed. "Of course she is."

"If you don't mind me, I'm going to relax with a nice no-"

"Squidward, wait! All of you need sunscreen. You don't wanna get a sunburn." SpongeBob was caring for the most minor of risks to his friends, a definite sign of his loyalty and devotion.

*groans* "Make it quick." Squidward tapped his foot in impatience.

SpongeBob took out the sunscreen from his bag.

He put some on himself.

He gave it to Patrick.

"How do you put this on?" Patrick was puzzled at the bottle of sunscreen in his hand.

Squidward facepalmed for the second time at Patrick's stupidity.

Sandy smirked, she was trying to suppress her giggling.

"Open the cap." SpongeBob pointed at the cap of the bottle of sunscreen.

"Uh huh." Patrick opened the cap.

"Squeeze." SpongeBob squeezed the air with his hand as an example.

"Uh huh." Patrick squeezed the bottle, sunscreen popped out.

"Now take that cream a. k. a. sunscreen with your hand."

"Uh huh." Patrick took the sunscreen with his hand.

"Now rub it on your skin."

Patrick put the sunscreen on himself. "It tickles." The sea star wasn't used to the weird sensation of the lotion.

The sea star gave it to Squidward.

Squidward put some of the sunscreen on himself.

He gave it back to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob looked at Sandy and was about to give her the sunscreen when he stopped mid-way through.

He was confused about how Sandy was going to put the sunscreen on when she was wearing the astronaut suit. "Ummmm..."

Sandy shook her head. "I already put some on in my treedome."

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob put the sunscreen away.

"Time to read." Squidward walked to a reclining chair and laid down on it. He began to read his novel.

"I'm going to find something fun to do." Patrick looked at his surroundings for a game to play. He soon found an on-going volleyball game. "I'm out." Patrick walked towards the game.

"Why not we explore this place a bit?" SpongeBob asked.

"Go right ahead." Sandy smirked.

The two walked around Goo Lagoon.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Sandy were laying down on reclining chairs. They were enjoying the sun.

SpongeBob stood up.

He saw a small pile of sand.

The sponge had an idea.

"Hey Sandy! Look!" SpongeBob covered himself into the mound of sand. "I'm Sandy!"

Sandy started to laugh.

SpongeBob took some of the sand in the pile and formed it on his head and nose to resemble Squidward. "Hey Sandy, who am I?"

Sandy laughed even harder.

SpongeBob took some more sand and shaped it to a phone. He put it on his ear as if calling someone.

"Hello, SpongeBob. Could you keep it down? I'm trying to be boring." SpongeBob tried to imitate Squidward's voice.

"SpongeBob! Stop! I'm dying!" She struggled to speak as she was laughing.

SpongeBob made a sand Krusty Krab hat and some sand pizza boxes. "Did anyone order twenty pepperoni and sand pizzas?"

A pause.

Sandy made a wide grin as she tried to suppress her laughter.

Both SpongeBob and Sandy laughed.

S-S-S-S-S

The game of volleyball was over.

Patrick and a buff red lobster were the team that won. They had several more points than their opponents.

"That game was a piece of cake." The lobster was satisfied with the outcome.

"You said it, Larry." Patrick smiled.

"Think you can handle tougher stuff?" Larry tried to intimidate Patrick.

"I don't have the brains but I got the brawn." Patrick flexed his muscles.

"Alright! Follow me." Larry walked away. He signaled for Patrick to follow him.

Patrick walked away from the volleyball court.

They headed towards SpongeBob and Sandy.

"You know them?" Patrick was curious as he saw the sponge and the squirrel.

"Yep. I believe you and SpongeBob are best friends as well. I see you two together every time you come to Goo Lagoon."

"You got that right."

S-S-S-S-S

"Oh look!" SpongeBob saw Larry and Patrick walk up to him and Sandy. He was familiar with Larry since he saw the lobster doing his lifeguard duty in Goo Lagoon all the time.

"Hey, Sandy. Hey, SpongeBob." Larry greeted.

"How's it been?" Patrick patted SpongeBob on the shoulder.

"Hey, Larry." Sandy got up from the reclining chair.

"You guys wanna go lift some weights?" Larry spoke.

"I'm already in." Patrick pointed at himself.

"Sure." Sandy walked away with Larry. "Well come on, SpongeBob."

SpongeBob looked at his skinny arms. He has no chance at even lifting the lightest of the metal weights.

The sand hat and pizza boxes fell down and sank back into the sand.

Patrick grabbed SpongeBob's arm. "C'mon, buddy! It won't be that bad. Trust me."

Patrick dragged SpongeBob along.

"Coming!" SpongeBob yelled to Sandy. He was disappointed that he had to go through the torturous exercise.

S-S-S-S-S

A crowd was sitting on a pair of bleachers that was near a bordered arena. They were cheering.

And whom they were cheering at were body-builders grunting and sweating as they lifted up heavy barbells.

Larry and Sandy were in the arena. They were standing before a moderately heavy barbell.

"Give it a try, Sandy." Larry pointed at the barbell.

"No problem." Sandy smirked, unphased by the weight and size of the barbell.

She put her hands on the barbell.

In no time flat she lifted the barbell as high as she can. Sandy didn't even break a sweat.

She dropped the barbell to the floor.

The crowd began clapping and yelled louder. They were impressed by Sandy's feat.

SpongeBob and Patrick walked to the scene.

"Good job, Sandy. Well, that's about enough for today, don't you think?" SpongeBob turned around and tried to leave the arena, he was nervous about lifting a barbell and the crowd seeing how pathetically weak he is. However, Patrick grabbed his arm again.

"Uh-uh." Patrick shook his head. "Why are you leaving now when you're already here? Try to lift at least one weight." Patrick let go of SpongeBob.

*sighs* "Fine." SpongeBob made a long face.

Patrick smiled.

"How about a little more weight?" Larry found a barbell much heavier than the one Sandy picked up.

Larry slowly bended down to pick up the barbell. "Observe."

His claws picked the barbell up.

The barbell was raised as high as he can. He was grunting and veins were sticking out of his neck, lifting the barbell was quite a challenge.

The crowd cheered even louder than last time. More hands were clapping.

**CLANK**

Larry dropped the weight.

Patrick found two decently heavy barbells that weighed a quarter of an anchor on each side of the barbell.

He walked over to the barbells and grabbed them.

The crowd gasped and became silent.

Patrick sweated and his face contorted as he lifted the barbells up.

His sunglasses fell off and landed on the ground, revealing his eyes,

Patrick raised the two barbells as high as he can.

The crowd rumbled their feet on the bleachers instead of clapping. Some of them stood up from their seats and yelled.

Patrick dropped the barbells to the floor.

He bowed.

He picked up his shades and put them back on.

Patrick signaled for SpongeBob to lift a barbell in front of the crowd.

"Alright, stand back everyone." SpongeBob walked to Larry and Sandy's midst. He found a twig laying on the ground.

SpongeBob picked up the twig.

The crowd wasn't cheering. Everybody was silent as SpongeBob performed a display of his strength.

SpongeBob lifted the twig to the air.

He immediately fell to the side and the twig sank to the ground. The twig was too overwhelming for his muscles.

Sandy walked past SpongeBob. She grabbed an exponentially heavier barbell with an anchor on each side.

"Y'all watch this!" Sandy lifted the anchor barbell as high in the air as she can.

The crowd was chanting Sandy's name and clapped furiously.

Larry took a metal bar out of a barbell.

He dived to the open space between the stands.

He connected the metal bar and the stands together.

With extreme difficulty and determination he lifted the stands as high as he can. The crowd was elevated in tow.

The crowd was silent.

A pause.

The crowds stood up from their seats and clapped until their hands hurt. They chanted Larry's name to the point of losing their voice.

"Way to go, Larry!" SpongeBob was clapping.

The sponge walked away from the arena. The deed was finally done and he was even saved from embarrassment.

He saw a young man sitting around a campfire. He was roasting a marshmallow on a wooden stick. Next to him was a plastic bag of marshmallows.

A light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. He might be able to redeem himself back in the arena, a second chance wouldn't hurt. The sponge won't give up lifting weights that easily.

"Could I borrow a couple of these?" SpongeBob walked to the young man.

"Mm-hmm." The young man nodded. His mouth was full of marshmallows. He took another marshmallow and put it in his mouth.

SpongeBob took two marshmallows out of the bag.

The sponge walked back to the arena. He found the twig still half-sunk into the sand.

He took it out.

He put the two marshmallows on both sides on the twig, the object now resembled a barbell.

By then, the crowd returned to normal levels of cheering.

"And now, with the addition of two, count 'em, two marshmallows!" SpongeBob yelled at the crowd.

The crowd became silent.

SpongeBob dropped the twig to the ground.

He crouched down.

His hands grasped the twig.

SpongeBob took a deep inhale.

A pause.

SpongeBob tried to lift the wooden barbell with all his might.

The twig didn't move a single inch, it looked like it was glued to the ground.

A pause. SpongeBob made an even deeper inhale.

SpongeBob made repeated attempts at lifting the twig.

After several seconds he made one final attempt.

He inhaled air to his lungs' maximum capacities.

Veins sticked out of his thin muscles as he tried to lift the twig up.

His teeth were clenched.

The twig finally moved up by two inches.

**RRRRRRRRRIP**

Something was ripped open.

SpongeBob's eyes widened, he made a poker-face.

The crowd gasped.

The sponge felt a surge of air inside his pants.

He slowly looked down at his rear.

When he saw it, he could no longer hide his emotions. He blushed and bit his lip.

A hole was ripped open at the bottom of his pants. His white underwear could be seen.

The crowd laughed at SpongeBob.

SpongeBob made a grin, he was too embarrassed to laugh at himself. He was trying to cover the hole.

SpongeBob quickly walked away from the arena.

A male in his late teen years walked over to SpongeBob, he was laughing.

"THAT was too funny." The teen slapped SpongeBob on the back as a form of congratulations. "YOU are hilarious!"

"Ain't he the funniest little sponge you ever saw, Scooter?" Sandy joined the conversation, she was giggling.

SpongeBob made a wide smile, still blushing.

Patrick walked to SpongeBob, he made a wide smile to suppress his giggling. "Way to go, SpongeBob. You're a comedi-something now." Patrick patted SpongeBob on the shoulder.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward honked his nose in laughter at SpongeBob for a moment.

He soon returned to reading his novel.

S-S-S-S-S

Larry, Sandy, Patrick, and SpongeBob left the arena.

"Anybody up for more volleyball?" Larry picked up a volleyball laying on the ground.

"Ooh! Me! Me!" Patrick jumped up and down while raising his hand.

"Then come on over!" Larry walked to a volleyball court.

Patrick followed.

Two other people walked to the other side of the volleyball court.

Larry threw the ball to the opposite side to start off the game.

The person to the left volleyed the ball back.

Patrick volleyed the ball.

The person to the right volleyed the ball back.

Larry volleyed the ball.

The person to the right volleyed the ball back.

Patrick volleyed the ball.

The person to the left dove and volleyed the ball before it exited the court.

Larry ran to the large net.

He jumped and spiked the ball.

It hit the person to the right in the face. He fell to the ground.

The crowd near the arena witnessed the entire game and clapped. They chanted Larry's name.

SpongeBob and Sandy were watching the game as well.

However, SpongeBob didn't look happy. He was folding his arms and his face showed an angry expression. The sponge was definitely envious of Larry. Before now he never even expressed the slightest form of jealousy. It took a certain sequence of events for such emotions to be triggered. First of all, his fun with Sandy was interrupted and he was forced to lift weights, which wasn't his thing, so he already showed some resentment. When it came to the actual weight-lifting, Larry excelled while SpongeBob struggled. What made it even worse was when SpongeBob finally lifted the barbell up, his pants had to rip so as to ruin his moment of victory. So people laughed at him and thought he was a comedian instead of cheering him on and thinking he put a lot of effort.

The person who got hit in the face by the ball stood up.

He took the ball off his face and prepared to throw it.

SpongeBob looked at the ball.

He looked back at the ripped hole on his pants.

A light bulb lit up in his head. It was time for some sweet and innocent revenge.

SpongeBob walked towards the court.

"SpongeBob, what're you doing?" Sandy was confused.

"If people like my ripped pants so much, I think they would like more." SpongeBob smirked as he eyed the volleyball.

The person threw the ball to the opposite side of the court.

The volleyball headed towards Larry.

Larry ran to volley the ball.

"I got it!" SpongeBob ran towards the ball as well.

Larry jolted and halted. He was heavily surprised.

SpongeBob dove to hit the ball. "Incoming!"

The sponge missed the ball.

The volleyball rolled on the ground.

The crowd near the arena stood up and booed.

SpongeBob walked to the ball.

He bended down to pick it up.

**RRRIP**

SpongeBob's pants was ripped even further. "Oops, I guess I ripped my pants again!"

A pause.

The crowd laughed. Even Patrick, Larry, and Sandy were laughing.

Scooter walked up to SpongeBob, he was laughing. "Once again, dude." He slapped SpongeBob on the back. "YOU have split my sides!" Scooter continued with his laughter.

Sandy found a frisbee laying on the ground right next to her.

She picked it up.

"Y'all up for frisbee?" Sandy exclaimed.

Larry walked to a certain distance in front of Sandy. "Let's go."

The lobster prepared his claws for catching the frisbee.

Sandy nimbly threw the frisbee towards Larry.

The frisbee glided in the air and moved away from Larry.

The buff lobster dove and caught the frisbee with his two hands.

In two seconds he stood up and quickly threw the frisbee back.

Sandy jumped and caught the frisbee.

SpongeBob was watching the frisbee glide from one side to the other, he walked away from the volleyball court.

"Hey Sandy, how about throwing it to me?" SpongeBob walked back a certain distance.

"Okay, here it comes!" Sandy threw the frisbee with expert precision.

The frisbee headed straight towards SpongeBob.

SpongeBob was as still as a statue.

**SMACK**

The frisbee hit SpongeBob's forehead.

SpongeBob fell to the ground. However, he was smiling. He had some trick up his sleeve.

"I could use a hand here!" SpongeBob raised his hand.

Sandy walked over and took his hand. "You okay, SpongeBob?"

Sandy pulled SpongeBob up.

"I guess so..." SpongeBob was standing.

He immediately made a hand-stand, it was revealing his ripped pants.

"Except I ripped my pants!" SpongeBob spoke with cleverness.

This time, the people in Goo Lagoon in general were laughing.

Sandy was giggling.

Scooter was laughing as he walked to SpongeBob. "You still got it, dude!" He slapped SpongeBob on the back.

SpongeBob flipped in the air and returned to a standing position. He was beginning to sweat from the heat.

"As hot of a day as this is, how about some ice cream?" SpongeBob looked at Sandy.

"You bet!" Sandy stopped giggling.

The two walked to an ice cream vendor.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick walked over to Squidward. He was holding SpongeBob's bag after it was accidentally abandoned near his and Sandy's chairs.

He took a nearby reclining chair and put it outside the radius of its umbrella's shadow. The chair faced the scorching rays of the sun.

Patrick took off his shirt.

He dug into the bag and took out the sunscreen.

Patrick put the sunscreen over his exposed skin.

He laid down on the reclining chair, he was sunbathing.

The sea star put the sunscreen away and put his shirt under his feet so that they won't get burned by the sand.

Patrick relaxed and settled into the sun's rays.

Meanwhile, Squidward still had a novel in his hand. However, he was not reading it.

He was watching SpongeBob and his 'ripped pants' antics. "I knew this was inevitable. But why does he have to annoy people when everything is peaceful?" Squidward grumbled to himself.

"But he's funny when he does it." Patrick came out of nowhere.

Squidward jolted. He suddenly noticed that Patrick was sunbathing quite close to his location. The sea star must have heard his one-person conversation.

"I only laughed once because he was embarrassed. After that, the joke quickly became stale for me."

"I see." Patrick nodded his head. "Some stuff can get boring too."

"Although I do appreciate that SpongeBob even CONSIDERED doing something to make up for his actions. Which leads me here in Goo Lagoon."

"He did more than that. Did you know that SpongeBob destroyed his bubblestand?"

Squidward raised his brow. "Seriously? I thought he put it away in his garage for some other time."

"SpongeBob took it down because he was afraid you were gonna get hurt again. It's probably because you and SpongeBob are friends and all of that."

"Patrick, tell me who kidnapped SpongeBob."

Patrick giggled. "No one stole him and took his place. Don't worry, Squidward. You'll see SpongeBob act like that again once in a blue moon."

"What's happening right now is proof of that." He glanced at SpongeBob from far away and groaned. He returned to his reading.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Sandy were waiting at a line.

Eventually they got to the front of the line and it was their turn.

"May I help you?" The person in the stand droned.

"I'll take a banana split." SpongeBob was smirking. Another joke was coming up.

"Uh, we don't have that." The person checked around the inside of the stand.

"That's okay. I already split my pants! Get it?"

Sandy was giggling.

"Tee-hee." The person tried to pretend that he thought the joke was funny. "Anything else?"

"How about ripple?" SpongeBob showed his ripped pants.

Sandy giggled even more.

"No thanks, already got one!" SpongeBob made a wide smile.

Sandy dropped to the floor, she was laughing.

SpongeBob skipped merrily to a snack bar. He saw a few people eating and drinking there.

He walked to an unsuspecting customer. The customer had a burger and a drink.

SpongeBob knocked over the customer's drink by accident.

"Is that a burger you're eating?" SpongeBob pointed at the customer's burger.

"Why, yes it is." The customer stopped eating and looked at SpongeBob.

"You know what would go good with that?"

"No, what?"

SpongeBob whispered into the customer's ear. "Ripped... pants." He then suddenly showed his ripped pants.

The customer raised his brow.

SpongeBob ran around the snack bar, he was laughing.

He stopped between two customers eating. "Ripped pants a la mode!" He showed his ripped pants.

The two customers weren't amused and became annoyed.

SpongeBob opened a door and walked into the kitchen of the snack bar. His was still continuing his series of 'ripped pants' jokes.

He took a box and walked to the fry cook.

"Delivery! Did you order twenty cases of ripped pants?" SpongeBob shoved his rear and ripped pants in tow through the box. He did his signature laugh.

The fry cook groaned, he was disgusted by SpongeBob's joke.

"Oops. Wrong house. Better go to the one next door." SpongeBob stopped laughing but kept smiling, he took the box off his rear.

He dropped the box to the floor.

He opened the door and exited the kitchen.

The fry cook took a deep breath and returned to work.

S-S-S-S-S

Larry was strolling along the shore of Goo Lagoon.

A giant wave crashed in front of him.

He stopped.

A pause.

The wave receded slowly and left marks on the sand.

The lobster looked towards the ocean, the waves were bigger than normal.

"Now's a good time to surf." Larry became excited.

He ran to his lifeguard tower.

He climbed up the ladder.

On the top of the tower were a few surfboards.

The lobster quickly snatched a surfboard and climbed back down the ladder.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Sandy were walking together.

"You should've seen me in the snack bar. I 'ripped' up a new ingredient for the fry cook." SpongeBob was giggling.

Sandy was smiling, she was suppressing her laughter.

Plop!

Larry landed from jumping off the ladder of his lifeguard tower. He was holding a surfboard.

"You're gonna surf?" Sandy looked from Larry's surfboard to the ocean to Larry himself.

"Yep. You better go now if you want to. The waves are really kicking."

"Where did you get those surfboards?"

"From my lifeguard tower up there." Larry pointed at the tower. "C'ya!" Larry ran towards the ocean.

"Wait for us!" Sandy ran to the tower to get a surfboard.

SpongeBob thought of a way to implement a 'ripped pants' joke.

He made a wide grin, this was going to be the most 'killer' trick he had done so far.

SpongeBob climbed up the ladder of the tower, following Sandy.

The two got their surfboards.

"Let's go!" SpongeBob pointed to the ocean.

Sandy nodded.

The two slid down the ladder.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick abruptly sat up in the reclining chair.

He took his shades off.

He saw SpongeBob, Sandy, and Larry run to the ocean with surfboards.

"Their surfing? I wanna have some fun too!" Patrick stood up from his seat.

He ran after them.

S-S-S-S-S

The sponge's, squirrel's, and lobster's feet entered the water.

Water splashed around their soles as they walked through the water.

They were careful to slow down as waves went past them and crashed to the shore.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick looked up at the lifeguard tower.

He saw a few surfboards leaning off the border of the top.

"Okay... now how do I get up there?" Patrick was completely oblivious to the ladder.

He looked at one of the four poles that maintained the structure of the tower.

"This'll do." Patrick clung to the pole.

He quickly climbed up and reached the top.

He reached a hand out and knocked down a surfboard.

Plop!

The surfboard landed on the ground.

Patrick jumped off the pole.

He landed with a...

**THUD**

Patrick held the surfboard.

"SpongeBob! I'm coming!" He ran to the ocean.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob heard Patrick's voice.

By then the three were lying their bodies on the surfboards and propelled themselves with their arms.

SpongeBob looked behind. "Huh?"

Patrick dived into the water and swam to catch up with them.

"Looks like Pat wants to join the ride." SpongeBob smiled even more.

"Don't slow down though. We might miss a good wave." Larry was staying focused.

"'Kay." SpongeBob maintained his speed.

SPLASH

Patrick emerged from the water.

He put his body on the surfboard and propelled himself with his arms.

The water began to get bumpier as they swam further out to sea. The waves were becoming more violent as they crashed to the shore.

Eventually, several huge waves headed straight towards them.

The water became peaceful as they came closer to the waves.

A pause.

The water increased in height as they went up the slopes of the waves.

All four stood on top of their surfboards. They were surfing.

Larry laid down on his surfboard as he surfed on the wave. He was doing his signature lay-back.

Sandy did a handstand as she surfed.

Patrick cartwheeled on his surfboard, making sure he didn't fall.

SpongeBob showed his ripped pants as he surfed on his surfboard.

RIP

Ripping them even further.

The wave suddenly crashed to the shore.

Water and darkness entered SpongeBob's vision. He felt the ground of the shoreline as he was underwater.

His surfboard was also reaching the shoreline.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick gasped. He saw what happened.

He quickly exited the wave.

He tried to swim back to the shore on his surfboard.

S-S-S-S-S

A lifeguard was watching Goo Lagoon through his telescope. He was standing on the top of his lifeguard tower.

SpongeBob's body washed up to the shore. He showed no signs of life. His face was buried in the sand.

The image was hazy through the lens of the telescope. The body looked like a yellow box.

"Hey, look! A cardboard box washed up on the beach." The lifeguard was unaware of the dire situation.

He magnified the yellow box so he can take a better look.

He saw the unconscious body of a sea sponge. His surfboard also washed up to the shore the moment he zoomed in.

"Holy fish paste! It's a guy!" The lifeguard exclaimed.

He slid down the ladder of his tower.

He ran towards the lifeless body.

The lifeguard grabbed the body and flipped it over. Revealing SpongeBob's deadpan face whose eyes were closed.

The lifeguard brushed the sand off his face. He shook the body.

The body was not making a reaction.

Patrick reached the shore.

He tossed his surfboard to the side.

The sea star ran towards the lifeguard who was holding the lifeless body.

"You know him?!" The lifeguard frantically asked.

"He's my best friend!" Patrick snatched the body.

Patrick took a deep breath.

A pause.

"**SPONGEBOB! C'MON BUDDY!**" Patrick was screaming at the body, he was holding it tightly.

The body was not making a reaction.

"**STAY. WITH. UUUSSS!**" Patrick shook the body furiously.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward jolted in his seat. He heard Patrick's panicky voice.

He stopped reading his novel, he put the book on the chair.

"What in the world is going on?" He stood up.

The octopus walked towards where he saw the sea star.

*sighs* "I wonder what drama is going on this time..." Squidward was somewhat crossed.

S-S-S-S-S

The body was not making a reaction.

People began to look at Patrick and the lifeguard. The two were creating a commotion.

Patrick made a deadpan face.

He let go of the body.

He fell to the ground back-first.

A pause.

Tears formed in his eyes. One went across his cheek.

The lifeguard fell to his knees.

He lifted his hands towards the sky.

"Why?! WHY?! **WHHHHHYYYY?!**" The lifeguard screamed in despair. It was heard throughout Goo Lagoon.

By that time, Squidward walked to the scene. The moment he saw the lifeless body of SpongeBob, he understood why Patrick was crying and the lifeguard was screaming.

The octopus's eyes widened. He was absolutely speechless. 'To think that I was going to have a good Sunday...'

Sandy and Larry came to the shore. They were finished with surfing. The two had no clue of what happened until they heard that scream.

"SpongeBob!" Sandy yelled in shock.

The squirrel and the lobster ran toward the body of SpongeBob.

A crowd gathered behind and around the six. They were watching silently.

SpongeBob shakily opened his eyes. It was a miracle.

"Come closer..." SpongeBob managed to speak.

The lifeguard grabbed SpongeBob.

"I need... I need..." SpongeBob opened his eyes even more. The rays of the sun seemed to have created a divine light.

"W-what do y-you n-need?" Tears formed in the lifeguard's eyes.

Tears formed in Sandy's eyes.

Larry put a claw over his mouth. His eyes were wide in shock.

"A tailor..." SpongeBob patted the lifeguard on the shoulder.

A pause.

"Because I ripped my pants!" SpongeBob stood up and released himself from the lifeguard's grasp. He laughed. It was as if all life was put back into his body.

The lifeguard narrowed his eyes. He made a serious glare.

The crowd that was watching glared.

Larry and Sandy glared.

Squidward crossed his tentacles.

A long, silent pause.

The crowd marched off, their faces showed expressions of anger. Larry walked away with them.

The lifeguard returned to his tower to continue his duty.

Sandy was still remaining. "That wasn't funny, SpongeBob! Y'all had me worried sick!" She marched off with Larry.

Squidward walked up to the sponge. "SpongeBob, why use such a dark sense of humor? Especially since you're all 'cheerful' and 'yellow' and 'positive'. I swear that you're being a psychic vampire at this point." Squidward walked away. He twisted the dagger in the wound.

Scooter parted from the crowd. He expressed disappointment.

He stood in front of SpongeBob for a bit.

"Dude..." Scooter walked away.

Out of all the complaints of the Bikini Bottomites, the words of Squidward, Sandy, and Scooter were all that were need to get the message out...

SpongeBob had went too far.

SpongeBob noticed that Patrick was still lying on the ground. "Umm... Pat, are you okay?"

Patrick jumped up. "You're still alive!" It took a minute for Patrick to realize the obvious.

The sea star hugged SpongeBob tightly.

SpongeBob's face turned blue..

"Pat, you... can let go... now. I need... to breathe..." SpongeBob managed to say.

Patrick released SpongeBob from his arms.

SpongeBob stumbled.

Patrick grabbed his arm so that he didn't fall.

Patrick let SpongeBob out of his grasp.

SpongeBob stood up straight.

He took several deep breaths.

His face returned to its normal yellow color.

"It was all a joke, Patrick. I pretended I was dying." SpongeBob had a solemn face. He was trying to explain to Patrick what happened.

Squidward stopped mid-way from returning to his seat. He heard what SpongeBob said. The octopus turned around to face SpongeBob and Patrick.

"You're an awesome actor! You deserve a medal!" Patrick was clapping. The sea star didn't realize the serious consequences of SpongeBob's actions.

"No, no, no." SpongeBob shook his head. "I got carried away with the 'ripped pants' jokes. I made some people annoyed. I made everybody including you w-worried..." His throat became sore, he was fighting back tears. "a-a-and m-made a-a-a few of y-you c-c-c-cry..." SpongeBob's eyes became extremely moist. However, he had enough determination to not shed a single tear. "A-and a-at the e-end of t-the d-d-day, I-I was the o-only one s-still l-l-laughing."

Patrick put his hand on SpongeBob's shoulder. "It's okay, buddy. Let it out." He showed concern for SpongeBob's well being.

SpongeBob immediately pushed the hand away. "I-I s-should be t-treated LIKE A JERK!" He stomped away from Patrick.

SpongeBob went inside a tent.

Squidward resumed to his walking.

"Maybe I should give SpongeBob some alone time." Patrick went back to his reclining chair.

He laid down.

He put on his shades.

He continued to bask in the sun.

"I believe the little square has learned his lesson." Squidward sat back down in his reclining chair.

"What lesson?" Patrick was confused.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was sitting inside the tent.

He wiped his eyes until they were no longer moist.

"I'm doing no more of those stupid 'ripped pants' jokes. No one, even me, finds them funny anymore."

SpongeBob stood up.

"I wonder how everyone's doing..." He opened the slit of the tent.

He walked out.

Goo Lagoon seemed like it was almost abandoned. Nobody except for Patrick and Squidward could be seen. Patrick was sun-bathing while Squidward was reading his novel, both of them were minding their own business.

Silence.

The wind was blowing.

A tumbleweed rolled along with the wind.

SpongeBob heard the faint sound of party music.

He turned to the direction where the music was coming from.

He saw Larry and Sandy in a volleyball court, they were volleying the ball from one side to the other. Someone outside the court had a radio that was playing the music. The lobster and the squirrel were having a good time, unlike SpongeBob.

*sighs* "Almost everybody's gone, even Sandy. She'd rather hang out with Larry. I know Squidward is angry at me and Patrick doesn't understand the situation."

SpongeBob took off his blue shorts. "We blew it, pants. Farewell."

He tossed the shorts into the wind.

It floated away from Goo Lagoon.

SpongeBob began to walk aimlessly through Goo Lagoon. He was miserable.

"Oh, I didn't have to be a fool to get Sandy's attention. AM I THE BIGGEST LOSER ON THE BEACH?!" SpongeBob felt as much despair as the lifeguard did when trying to 'save' him.

He heard the steps of walking feet, someone answered his call.

SpongeBob saw a woman suffering a severe sunburn.

"No, I am. I forgot to put on sunscreen." She placed a hand on her skin and took it out.

The hand left a white mark which vanished after several long seconds.

"Ouch." SpongeBob winced.

More footsteps.

SpongeBob turned around.

A man was standing before SpongeBob.

"No, I am. I got sand in my buns." The man showed two sandy hamburger buns.

**RRRRRRRUUMMMMMBLE**

The ground shook.

SpongeBob was slightly frightened.

A cloud of sand erupted.

The head of a whale popped out.

"No, I'm the biggest loser on the beach. They buried me in the sand and forgot me." The whale spoke, he had a deep voice.

"What happened to you?" The three 'beach losers' droned.

"I lost a best friend." SpongeBob spoke in a solemn, cold manner.

"How?" The three continued to speak.

SpongeBob was silent for a moment.

He heard the howling of the wind.

He heard the rhythmic tumbling of the tumbleweed.

He heard the party music and the intense volleyball game.

He heard the blue shorts flapping in the breeze, the hole in the pants was stuck on the sharp top of an umbrella.

Together in sync, it seemed like... a song.

"The only way I could say it would be through song." SpongeBob spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Where can we get the instruments?" The man with the sand buns asked.

"Just use sand." SpongeBob bended down.

SpongeBob picked up several handfuls of sand.

He formed a guitar out of the grainy earth.

"A-ahem." SpongeBob cleared his throat, he was preparing to sing.

The three 'losers' stood back, they quickly went to work on making sand instruments and a sand stage.

"When I ripped." SpongeBob ripped his underwear, revealing his bottom. "my pants. I thought that I had everybody by my side, but I went and blew it all sky-high, and now she won't even spare a passing glance, all just because I ripped my pants." As SpongeBob sung he played the guitar slowly.

Standing before SpongeBob was a sand stage looking out to the crowd near the shoreline.

SpongeBob quickly ran to the stage.

Already standing and waiting for him were the three 'losers' with their own sand instruments.

"When big Larry came 'round just to put him down, SpongeBob turned into a clown, and no girl ever wants to dance with a fool who went and" The three 'losers' ripped their own pants. "ripped his pants." The four sang in unison.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick and Squidward got up from their seats. They heard the singing voices.

"SpongeBob's singing!" Patrick ran to the sand stage.

"I hope this piece of sound is worthy of being called art." Squidward jogged after the sea star.

S-S-S-S-S

Larry and Sandy stopped playing volleyball.

The stranger turned off the radio. He picked it up and walked towards the sand stage.

People looked towards the sand stage where the singing was coming from.

They formed a crowd and gathered around the stage.

S-S-S-S-S

"I know I shouldn't mope around, I shouldn't curse, but the pain feels so much worse... 'cause winding up with no one is a lot less fun than a burn from the sun..." SpongeBob sang in a beautiful voice, he took his singing talent to its maximum potential.

"Or sand in your buns!" The four sang in unison.

There was an instrumental break.

"Go SpongeBob! Now that's the buddy I know!" Patrick cheered. He was jumping up and down inside the crowd.

SpongeBob smiled for a few seconds.

He quickly returned to a serious expression.

"Now I learned a lesson I won't soon forget... so listen and you won't regret. Be true to yourself; don't miss your chance..." Large waves crashed against the shores of Goo Lagoon as SpongeBob sung.

"and you won't end up like the fool...who...ripped...his...pants!" The four sung in unison.

They ripped their pants even further just as the song ended.

A pause.

The crowd was screaming and clapping.

Patrick was clapping the loudest, his hands were turning red.

"SpongeBob!" Sandy yelled.

"Sandy!" SpongeBob saw Sandy within the crowd and yelled back.

Sandy jumped to the stage.

She hugged SpongeBob which heavily surprised him. "Your song is true. If y'all want to be my friend, just be yourself."

SpongeBob grinned.

Scooter walked up to the stage. "You rock, dude!" He slapped SpongeBob on the back.

Patrick walked up to the stage. "Way to go, buddy!" He patted SpongeBob on the shoulder.

"That piece of trash only fits the bare minimum requirements to be considered 'music'. Even I could write better lyrics if I tried." Squidward was jealous of SpongeBob's musical talent and tried to dismiss what just happened,

Larry walked up to the stage. "SpongeBob, that was so righteous. Would you... sign my pants?" Larry tried not to sound awkward.

"Absolutely, buddy." SpongeBob smiled even more.

Larry gave SpongeBob a pen. He turned around.

SpongeBob bended down to sign his pants.

The moment he finished the signature...

**RRRRIP**

His underwear ripped to the point of no return, it collapsed to the ground.

SpongeBob was fully nude.

The sponge quickly tried to cover himself. He was blushing.

The stranger holding the radio made a loud whistle.

Out of nowhere, his blue shorts flew above the sand stage.

It landed in front of SpongeBob.

In three seconds SpongeBob...

Grabbed the shorts.

Put it on.

And tightened the white strap so his pants didn't fall off.

"Phew." SpongeBob brushed sweat off his brow, he was relieved.

"Umm... SpongeBob, aren't we supposed to go to Jellyfish Fields today?" Patrick had a sudden improvement in memory.


	6. Jellyfishing

**Chapter 6: Jellyfishing**

* * *

A crane was moving a large tiki that someone called a home.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

The vehicle that had the crane was driving slowly, it beeped as its tires moved.

A construction worker was guiding the crane to where it needed to go by pointing both of his thumbs to the right direction.

"Alright, stop right there!" The worker put his hand out towards the crane to signal for it to stop.

The crane halted.

The tiki shook for a bit.

"Drop it down." The worker made a thumbs up.

The crane let the tiki go.

**THUD**

A large plume of sand.

A pause.

The tiki landed perfectly in its circular foundation.

"That's it boys. Time to leave!" The worker commanded.

The vehicle with the crane went inside a large truck.

Other construction workers entered the truck.

The truck drove off to the horizon.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward were walking back to their neighborhood.

"SpongeBob, didn't you say that my tiki was supposed to arrive today?" Squidward asked.

"You're right. The people who were repairing your house did say it would be completely fixed by Sunday which is today. I don't know exactly when though. Sorry." SpongeBob was jogging, he was somewhat ahead of Squidward. He was nervous and really wanted to go to Jellyfish Fields.

"Let's see if I'm lucky eno-" Squidward immediately stopped walking.

SpongeBob and Patrick focused their attention away from Squidward.

The three looked at their neighborhood.

It didn't have two houses...

...it had three.

Squidward's tiki was fully intact in its exterior, it was as if nothing has happened to it

*gasps* "My house! Thank Neptune!" Squidward was overjoyed and ran to his house. He yearned for this moment.

"Alright, Pat. Let's prepare for our weekly spree of jellyfishing. However, I've added a little twist when we get outside all set." SpongeBob winked and quickly went to his pineapple.

"'kay." Patrick went to his rock.

**C-CRRREEEAK**

**S-SLAM**

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward scanned the living room.

All the furniture, accessories, and even self-portraits were intact.

The octopus was relieved, he was stressed out about the condition of his belongings all week.

He went upstairs to his bedroom.

He changed back to just a brown short.

The octopus came back downstairs.

Squidward opened a door and looked at his backyard .

Before him was an abandoned garden. Most of the plants were in poor condition. However, all of them were still alive.

Squidward bit his lip. "Better than nothing, I guess."

He went back inside for his gardening utensils.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was in his bedroom.

He finished changing to his normal attire.

The sponge decided to look out his window to see if Patrick was ready.

Through the corner of his eye he saw a pink dot in the distant horizon.

SpongeBob shifted his vision to directly look at the pink dot and squinted.

He couldn't recognize what is was. However, it was definitely coming closer.

A pause as SpongeBob waited.

He could now clearly see what the pink dot was.

It was a jellyfish.

SpongeBob ran to his treasure chest. He put his hand under the chest and took out the key.

He unlocked the chest.

The chest lifted open.

He snatched a telescope that was inside the chest.

SpongeBob went back to the window.

He quickly and forcefully opened the window.

SpongeBob put the telescope out of the opening of the window.

He observed the jellyfish...

By the direction it was heading, the pink creature was definitely going to fly around SpongeBob's neighborhood.

SpongeBob smiled.

The sponge immediately opened a door.

He ran downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary was watching TV on the couch.

The realistic fish head was currently reporting the latest news.

SpongeBob dashed into the living room.

Gary jumped in surprise, he was glued to the tube for a long time.

SpongeBob picked up the shell-phone.

He inputted Patrick's phone number and put it close to his ear.

A pause.

"Hello?" Patrick picked up the phone on the other line.

"Patrick, this is super important! I just saw a jellyfish fly near my house! We might have a chance of catching it and if we do catch it, we'll get out first catch without even going to Jellyfish Fields! Come to my place ASAP!"

"Gotcha." Patrick put down the phone.

SpongeBob put down the phone.

The sponge waited.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick got out of his rock, he was wearing his normal clothes.

He ran to SpongeBob's pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

**SLAM**

Patrick pushed the door open, he entered the pineapple.

SpongeBob ran ahead of Patrick. "Follow me!" He signaled for Patrick to follow him.

They ran through the kitchen.

The two reached the set of green stairs.

SpongeBob and Patrick ran upstairs.

They entered SpongeBob's bedroom.

SpongeBob once again looked out through his telescope.

The jellyfish was still roaming around SpongeBob's house.

SpongeBob looked towards Patrick, he silently nodded.

"Should we go catch it now?" Patrick was becoming anxious.

SpongeBob shook his head. "Now here comes the twist. Just wait a minute."

Patrick stood still.

The sponge ran downstairs.

There were ridiculously loud sounds of the displacement of various objects.

Patrick heard "Sorry, Gary." and "My bad." He also heard the occasional "Oops."

The sea star was standing still and did completely nothing. It was one of his special talents.

Two vents, one in the shape of a square and one in the shape of a circle, popped out of the doorway to the stairs.

SpongeBob came back to the bedroom. "Sorry for the wait."

He stood next to Patrick. "On the count of three you go through the circle vent while I go through the square vent." SpongeBob pointed at the two vents for emphasis.

Patrick prepared himself like a track athlete.

SpongeBob did the same.

"Three." SpongeBob began the countdown.

Patrick zeroed in on the circle vent.

"Two."

Patrick grit his teeth.

SpongeBob made a serious face. 'I can't mess this up.'

"One."

The two leaned forward.

"GO!"

SpongeBob ran and slid through the square vent.

Patrick ran and slid through the circle vent.

Two yellow and pink torpedoes darted through the tubes.

SpongeBob and Patrick eventually saw light at the end of the tunnels.

Time slowed.

SpongeBob and Patrick came out from the other side of the square and circle vents.

The sponge and the sea star flew in the air.

Two pairs of yellow and pink hands grabbed two pieces of rope hanging from the ceiling.

Time resumed.

SpongeBob and Patrick slid down the two pieces of rope, the friction created considerable heat.

**T-THUD**

They touched down to the floor, the two were in the living room.

Gary was watching the whole spectacle.

An awkward pause, SpongeBob and Patrick's hands were burning.

They winced in pain and blew their hands.

Several seconds of blowing hands later...

SpongeBob returned to his expression. Patrick gritted his teeth again.

They ran towards the closet.

SpongeBob opened the door.

Inside was where SpongeBob put two jellyfishing nets and his glasses.

SpongeBob took his glasses and put them on. He grabbed a jellyfishing net.

Patrick grabbed a jellyfishing net.

S-S-S-S-S

**SLAM**

SpongeBob and Patrick barged the door open. The two were like military soldiers ready to take on anything.

The jellyfish flew by peacefully.

"Man, I always wanted to do that!" SpongeBob made a wide grin, he felt like a badass.

The seriousness of their actions and expressions vanished entirely.

"That 'twist' thingy was awesome! I don't know how you made that." Patrick marveled at SpongeBob's feat of engineering.

Both SpongeBob and Patrick giggled.

The two faced the jellyfish.

"La la la la la la la la la la." SpongeBob and Patrick sung in unison. The two skipped as they chased the jellyfish. This was completely unexpected if you have seen SpongeBob and Patrick jellyfish before. However, it was a new strategy of theirs.

The two caught up to the jellyfish and skipped at the same pace as it. So far, the strategy was working.

"I think I've got it! Wait..." SpongeBob skipped closer to the jellyfish.

He jumped and tried to grab the pink top of the jellyfish.

Instead he grabbed the stingers of the jellyfish.

**ZZAP**

SpongeBob winced, he shook his hand in the air to get rid of the pain. "Ow."

"BUZZZZZZZ!" The jellyfish became angry.

It flew towards Patrick.

**ZZZAP**

It stung Patrick's back.

Patrick reeled in pain.

It flew towards SpongeBob.

**ZZZAP**

It stung SpongeBob's back.

SpongeBob tripped but put his hand on the ground to prevent his fall.

"Take cover!" SpongeBob dove to the ground.

Patrick did it also.

The two were one large heap of burnt pink and yellow flesh. They were in Squidward's lawn.

The jellyfish decided to fly away.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was sitting on his sofa, he was in the living room. He had finished taking care of his garden.

Squidward was pondering about what to do next.

"Hmm... since SpongeBob and Patrick will annoy me again very soon... I think exploring Bikini Bottom with my bike would be best. I could actually get away from those two and be happy at the same time." A hand was on his chin.

He stood up from his sofa.

The octopus opened the door and walked back to his backyard.

He grabbed his bike which was leaning against the backside of the tiki.

Squidward went inside his tiki once again.

**SLAM**

He closed the back door.

**CRRREEEAK**

The octopus opened his front door.

He mounted on the bicycle.

Squidward immediately turned the petals. He aimed to get out of the neighborhood as fast as he can.

He noticed SpongeBob and Patrick in a burned heap. They had jellyfishing nets. The two were jellyfishing.

SpongeBob and Patrick stood up. They brushed the sand off themselves.

"Hey Squidward, we're jellyfishing." SpongeBob finally announced what he was worried about since they left Goo Lagoon.

"Of course you are, bye now." Squidward pedaled the bike even faster.

"Wait! We made a net especially for you!" SpongeBob was running towards Squidward.

Squidward stopped pedaling his bike. He looked at SpongeBob with his brow raised.

SpongeBob then ran in another direction and entered his pineapple.

Loud sounds of fumbling.

SpongeBob came out with another jellyfishing net. "Do you want to come with us?" He called out to Squidward and smiled.

Squidward made a sarcastic smirk. "Really? Jellyfishing with you guys? Oh, that would be the best day ever in my book. I would love to go jellyfishing! I can't think of anything I'd like to do more on my day off than go jellyfishing with my two best friends SpongeBob and... uh..." He had a brain fart.

"Patrick." The sea star corrected Squidward.

"Right. But I can't. Bye bye." Squidward pedaled his bike again.

"Next time?" SpongeBob was almost begging.

"Oh sure, right! Whatever." Squidward vanished from the horizon.

S-S-S-S-S

"Like that'll ever happen." Squidward muttered to himself while pedaling his bike.

Squidward giggled.

S-S-S-S-S

A pause as SpongeBob and Patrick saw Squidward disappear from the horizon.

"You know, Patrick? It always seems like Squidward never has time for fun." SpongeBob spoke his observation.

"Maybe he doesn't like us." Patrick made an educated guess.

"No, are you kidding? We're his best friends." SpongeBob pointed out to Patrick.

"That's true." Patrick nodded.

"So, wanna go to Jellyfish Fields now?" SpongeBob pointed to the direction of Jellyfish Fields.

"Let's go!" Patrick walked ahead of SpongeBob.

The two walked towards Jellyfish Fields.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward laughed by honking his nose as he pedaled on his bicycle.

"Jellyfishing." He continued to laugh. "Oh, I'll go." He continued to laugh. "I sure had them going." He kept laughing at his own comments.

Not far from Squidward was the jellyfish that stung SpongeBob and Patrick.

It was rapidly flying in the opposite direction of where Squidward's bike was going.

Squidward saw the jellyfish.

He stopped laughing.

His eyes widened.

His jaw dropped somewhat.

To Squidward's horror, the bicycle was pedaling straight towards the jellyfish.

And it was too late.

The jellyfish flew directly into Squidward's ajar mouth.

It was flying inside Squidward's mouth and it was between his jaws.

Squidward coughed and spit the jellyfish out.

The jellyfish floated for a bit as it regained its senses.

"Stupid jellyfish! Beat it!" Squidward lost his temper. He hit the jellyfish with his hand.

"BUZZZZZZZZZ!" The jellyfish became angry. It flew into Squidward's shirt.

**ZZZAP**

**ZAP**

**ZZAP**

**ZZAP**

It was stinging Squidward in the chest.

Squidward stopped pedaling his bike. He reeled in pain.

The bicycle had reached a fast-enough speed to keep going on its own.

The bike collided with a rock.

Squidward and the bicycle flew in the air.

**THUD**

They landed on the ground

**SMACK**

**ZAP**

**SLAM**

**ZAP**

Squidward and the bike were bouncing outside the road as he was being zapped.

Abruptly, the octopus felt no ground below him.

He noticed that he had fallen off a cliff.

"BARNACL-" Squidward screamed in mid-air before he was interrupted.

**CRRRAAASSH**

Squidward and the bicycle crashed to the ground.

The jellyfish got out of Squidward's shirt and flew away.

Squidward groaned. He was severely injured.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were moderately far from their homes.

They heard a loud **CRRRAAASSH**.

"Patrick, did you hear that?" SpongeBob was looking at his surroundings.

"Yeah. It sounded like someone broke their bike." Patrick spoke, his intelligence increased a little bit.

SpongeBob's eyes widened. "Uh oh."

The two noticed that there was a cliff with small tire tracks leading to the edge.

They slowly walked to the edge.

The jellyfish from before flew past them, it decided to leave them alone.

SpongeBob and Patrick looked down.

A crippled Squidward was laying on the ground below the cliff. His bike was in several broken pieces.

SpongeBob and Patrick's eyes widened in horror.

SpongeBob bit his lip. "That's gotta hurt."

"Yikes." Patrick slightly winced.

"Jellyfish Fields can wait! I'm calling 9-1-1!" SpongeBob began to run back to his pineapple.

Patrick followed him.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary was digging into the couch.

He had difficulty finding the remote, it unfortunately got inside there.

Gary hopped off the couch, he lost his patience.

The snail left the living room in search of the crow bar.

**SLAM**

The front door to the pineapple was barged open.

Gary turned around and immediately saw SpongeBob and Patrick running to the shell-phone, the two were in a state of panic.

SpongeBob grabbed the phone. He dialed 9-1-1.

He put the phone near his ear.

A pause.

An electronic voice.

"A n-neighbor of mine got into a biking accident and fell off a cliff. One of his l-legs is broken and he is crippled as of right now." SpongeBob tried his best to speak as calmly as possible.

An electronic voice.

"124 Conch Street."

An electronic voice.

"Alright."

SpongeBob put down the phone.

"They said Squidward will be taken to the hospital very soon." SpongeBob informed Patrick about his conversation on the phone.

Patrick crossed his fingers and sat down on the couch.

SpongeBob sat with him.

The two best friends anxiously waited for another phone call.

S-S-S-S-S

A blaring siren. It showed a bright red light.

An ambulance was driving at high speeds.

**SCREEEECH**

It stopped near Squidward's location.

The back doors opened.

Men and women in uniform rushed out holding a mobile tray large enough for a body.

They gently picked up Squidward, making sure not to further injure his crippled leg.

He was gently laid down on the tray.

The men and woman moved the tray quickly back into the ambulance.

The back doors were shut forcefully.

The siren blared and showed red light once again.

The ambulance drove off to the horizon. It was heading towards the nearest hospital.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was sweating, he was incredibly nervous. The wait was killing him.

Patrick was mindlessly walking around in circles throughout the living room. He sometimes bumped into walls.

**RING RING RING RING RING**

SpongeBob made a wide smile, all signs of anxiety vanished physically and mentally.

He ran to the phone and put it to his ear.

"Yeah. Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Okay." SpongeBob was listening to an electronic voice, he was nodding.

SpongeBob put the phone down.

"Good news! Squid's safely recovering in the hospital. He should be back home very soon."

"If Squid's coming back home... shouldn't we do something for him?" Patrick's I. Q. doubled. However, he wasn't sure what to do when Squidward comes home. He shrugged his shoulders.

A light bulb lit up in SpongeBob's head.

"Maybe we should give Squidward a warm welcome back home as his two best friends. We'll be sure to give him his best day ever!" SpongeBob spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Good plan but... who are these two friends?' Patrick couldn't understand SpongeBob's vague context.

*laughs* "Us, silly. Anyways, we gotta get everything ready before Squidward comes home." SpongeBob had a sense of urgency.

"Roger that." Patrick made a thumbs up.

SpongeBob walked to his garage.

Patrick followed.

Gary continued to search for the crow bar.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick entered the garage.

"Pat, can you flip that over and hold it up?" SpongeBob pointed at a large 'Happy Birthday' banner.

Patrick flipped the banner upside-down and held it up. "Like this?"

SpongeBob made a thumbs up. He was opening a bucket of black paint.

He took the lid off and dipped in a paintbrush.

SpongeBob painted 'Welcome Home' on the banner. "You can drop it now."

Patrick dropped the banner to the floor.

"Now we gotta cook something for Squidward... got any ideas, Pat?" SpongeBob was in the same situation as Patrick, he wasn't sure about what to do next.

"I don't know." Patrick shrugged his shoulders.

"Wanna search the kitchen for something then?" SpongeBob stepped out of the garage.

"Yep." Patrick stepped out right next to SpongeBob.

The two went to the kitchen.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick entered the kitchen.

SpongeBob opened the refrigerator and looked at the food inside. "Ooh. Alphabet soup. Fits the warm welcome feeling, hehe." He intentionally made a joke.

He took out a box of alphabet soup.

He opened a cabinet and took out a pan.

He went back to the fridge and took out a gallon of water.

He poured some water on the pan.

The sponge opened the flavor packets in the box and put the powder into the water.

From the small packets of alphabet noodles, he took out certain letters that spelled out 'BEST DAY EVER'.

He put the letter noodles on the pan.

SpongeBob put the pan on the stove. He turned the switch from 'OFF' to 'ON'.

He began cooking.

Patrick was just standing there and watching.

S-S-S-S-S

The entrance doors to the hospital opened.

Squidward exited the hospital on a wheelchair, his crippled leg was in a normal position and was wrapped in gauze.

Squidward used his arms to move the wheelchair forward, he was going home.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick was carrying the 'Welcome Home' banner on his shoulder.

SpongeBob was wearing protective gloves as he carried a hot bowl of alphabet soup, he finished cooking.

The two exited the pineapple, the door was already opened.

They entered Squidward's tiki.

Patrick hung the banner in the living room.

SpongeBob carefully set the bowl of soup on a table, not an ounce of liquid was spilled.

FLICK

Patrick turned the lights off.

His back went against the wall, he was close to the front door.

"Good idea, Pat." SpongeBob put his back to the wall, he was next to Patrick.

SpongeBob made the front door ajar, he peeked through the slight opening.

Squidward was moving in a wheelchair, his injured leg was patched up. He was heading for his house.

"Squid's back." SpongeBob whispered.

He closed the door.

A pause.

Dead silence.

They heard the wheels of the wheelchair move closer and closer.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward stopped wheeling.

He opened the front door.

The lights were immediately turned on.

He saw a 'Welcome Home' banner hanging on the wall and a hot bowl of soup on a table.

"Welcome home, Squidward!" SpongeBob stood in front of Squidward.

"Merry Christmas!" Patrick jumped in the air. He was unaware of his stupidity.

"I should've guessed..." Squidward had a deadpan face.

"We're gonna make this your best day ever!" SpongeBob was in a jolly mood.

"More like my worst day ever. My broken leg is proof of that." Squidward turned around and wheeled out of his house.

"Well your best day's surely not gonna be out there." SpongeBob turned Squidward around and wheeled him back into his tiki.

Squidward groaned.

SpongeBob wheeled Squidward to the table with the hot bowl of alphabet soup. Patrick was standing near it.

"How about some soup on your best day ever?" Patrick pushed the bowl of soup closer to Squidward. He picked up a spoon.

Squidward looked at the bowl of hot soup.

The letter noodles spelled out 'BEST DAY EVER'. Smoke rose up from the liquid and stung Squidward's face. He knew right away that the soup was going to burn his throat to a crisp.

"I gotta get out of here!" Squidward attempted to stand up so he can limp his way out.

Patrick put a hand on Squidward's shoulder and forced him to sit back down. "I know you're really hungry but I don't want you to hurt your leg more. I'll feed for you instead."

The sea star scooped some soup up. "Here we go!" He slowly inched the spoon towards Squidward's mouth.

"Oh Neptune no no no no no NO NO **NO** **NOO**!" Squidward shrieked louder and louder as the spoon moved closer and closer, he was furiously shaking his head. The steam stung his face even more.

SpongeBob backed away by a few steps. He covered his eyes with a hand and crossed his fingers with another. "I hope that soup isn't too hot..." He whispered to himself.

Patrick heard the whisper.

The spoon stopped right in front of Squidward's mouth.

Squidward took a deep breath in relief.

Patrick put the spoon to his face. He noticed the steam rising from the soup and how warm the handle of the spoon was without even touching the soup.

"Oh, it's a little hot." Patrick took a deep inhale.

Squidward's eyes bugged out

Patrick blew hard.

The soup flew off the spoon.

Time slowed.

SpongeBob put a hand to his mouth and his eyes bugged out.

Squidward flinched his head back.

The soup touched Squidward's face.

Time resumed.

"**AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH**!" Squidward's voice pierced the air. It even slightly vibrated the tiki.

His head was crimson. Smoke rose up from the areas on his face where the soup made contact. Squidward covered his face with his hands. His body shook as the soup burned his skin.

What made things even worse was...

...that Patrick refilled the spoon with more of the deadly soup.

The sea star blew again, he wasn't going to settle for just one try.

The soup touched and scorched Squidward while his mouth was open and still screaming.

Squidward gurgled. His hands desperately grasped his burning throat.

He managed to spit the soup out. Squidward almost fell off the wheelchair.

Patrick made another refill.

He blew the liquid fire.

Out of all places to land, it landed on the gauze of Squidward's injured leg.

The gauze absorbed the soup and made the pain last torturously longer and brutally more painful.

"AAaaAaaahh..." Squidward struggled to scream as some soup was still in his throat. He collapsed to he floor, his hands were clutching his burned and broken leg. His entire body shook violently in extreme pain. "W-WHY D-DId Y-You hAve to DO THat?" He struggled to ask Patrick a question.

Patrick scratched his head.

SpongeBob watched in horror, it was as if he was watching a medieval execution.

The sponge decided to pull the bowl of soup away from Patrick. "I don't think soup is the best thing for him on his best day ever." SpongeBob actually managed to form words out of his mouth after witnessing the dire consequences of Patrick's ineptitude.

Squidward shakily sat back down on his wheelchair. Some but not all of the pain was gone.

SpongeBob was thinking of what to do next. "Hmmm..." A light bulb lit up in his head. "I'll be right back." SpongeBob ran upstairs.

A pause as Patrick and Squidward waited.

SpongeBob came back downstairs, he was holding a sheet holder and Squidward's clarinet.

"How about some music on your best day ever? Played on your very own clarinet." SpongeBob put the holder down, he grabbed the clarinet with both of his hands.

SpongeBob took a deep inhale.

He blew into the clarinet.

Not even a single note came out, it was just air.

An awkward pause.

"Sorry, my lips are a little dry." SpongeBob then wet his lips with his tongue for several seconds.

Squidward was pondering about how he was going to clean all that saliva off his clarinet.

"Ew." Patrick found what SpongeBob did to be somewhat disgusting.

SpongeBob took another deep inhale, he was preparing to blow into the clarinet again.

Patrick suddenly snatched the clarinet away from SpongeBob's grasp. "Music isn't the best either."

"But what is best is what we saved for last. The one sure-fire thing to make your best day ever THE best day ever! It's also a little something I've been waiting all day to do." SpongeBob made a wide smile. He took out his glasses and put them on.

"I'll get the nets." Patrick went outside and ran to SpongeBob's pineapple.

A pause.

He came back with three jellyfishing nets.

SpongeBob took a net.

The duo wheeled Squidward out of his tiki.

They were heading to...

S-S-S-S-S

Half an hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

...'Jellyfish Fields' was what a sign said. The gate was already open.

The sun shined bright in the sky. It was beginning to be late-afternoon.

"Jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing, jellyfishing!" SpongeBob and Patrick chanted as they wheeled Squidward to Jellyfish Fields.

"I wonder how this is gonna turn out..." Squidward wasn't thrilled in the least about going jellyfishing.

"This is Jellyfish Fields, where wild jellyfish roam just waiting to be captured." SpongeBob introduced Squidward to Jellyfish Fields.

"And where I'm waiting to get injured." Squidward turned around and tried to wheel himself back home.

"No, no, Squid!" SpongeBob grabbed the wheelchair and prevented it from moving. "Over here!" SpongeBob turned the wheelchair and Squidward in tow towards Jellyfish Fields. "I know you're eager, Squid, but you don't even have your net. Pat, fix him up while I find him a good specimen."

"The last thing I want to do i-" Squidward muttered but he was interrupted.

"Firmly grasp it in your hand." Patrick placed the handle of the jellyfishing net on Squidward's hand.

Squidward was still suffering from the effects of the hot soup, his hand shook and was unable to grasp the handle. The jellyfishing net slid to the ground. "Patrick, I can't gra-"

Patrick picked up the jellyfishing net. "Firmly grasp it." Patrick put the handle on Squidward's hand once again.

It slid and fell to the ground.

Patrick hastily picked up the jellyfishing net, he lost his patience. "FIRMLY GRASP IT!" He jerked the handle of the net to Squidward's hand and squeezed the hand so it grasped the handle.

"Alright! Alright! STOOOP!" Squidward shrieked in pain.

Patrick released his hands.

Squidward was firmly grasping the jellyfishing net.

"That oughta do it." Patrick smirked.

"This will end soon, Squidward. This will end soon." Squidward muttered to himself in assurance.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was spying on a group of jellyfish behind a rock.

One jellyfish flew outside of the group and went elsewhere.

SpongeBob was carefully considering if the jellyfish was easy enough to capture for beginners. Eventually he nodded his head.

The jellyfish was flying above Squidward and Patrick.

"There's one in position!" SpongeBob stood up from the rock. He ran to Patrick.

The two stepped away from Squidward.

The jellyfish flew lower to the ground and was right in front of Squidward.

"You ready Squidward? Your first catch ever is right there!" SpongeBob pointed at the jellyfish.

Squidward crossed his arms, he was extremely grumpy after what happened to him

"Ready... set... GO!" SpongeBob counted down.

SpongeBob and Patrick screamed encouraging words at Squidward. They were jumping up and down.

Squidward didn't move, he kept crossing his arms.

The two stopped cheering, they noticed that Squidward wasn't wheeling his chair an inch.

"I think we gotta show him how it's done." Patrick didn't know that Squidward was being stubborn.

"I don't want to je-" Squidward was saying something but then became quiet and raised his brow.

SpongeBob and Patrick were dancing around and trying to catch the jellyfish, they were trying to teach Squidward how to catch the pink creatures.

The two missed and failed to catch the jellyfish each time.

"BUZZZZZZZZZ!" The jellyfish became irritated at SpongeBob and Patrick's behavior.

**Z-ZZZAAAAP**

It stung both SpongeBob and Patrick at the same time. They fell to the ground.

It flew towards Squidward.

**ZAP**

It stung Squidward on the nose and flew away.

"Why I oughta..." Squidward began to wheel after the jellyfish, he was pissed off.

SpongeBob and Patrick stood up, they rubbed the areas where they got stung.

"BUZZZ BUZZZZZZ!" The jellyfish being chased by Squidward called for its group.

The group of jellyfish appeared out of nowhere. They charged their stingers with blue electricity. The group scanned the area and the first things they saw were...

...SpongeBob and Patrick.

The group of jellyfish flew towards the two best friends and-

**ZZZAP**

**ZZAP**

**Z-ZAP**

**ZZZAP**

**ZZZZAP**

**ZAP**

**ZZZZZAAAAP**

They stung the brains out of SpongeBob and Patrick.

The two fell down to the ground once again, their flesh was charred from the stings.

The group of jellyfish flew away from the area, they were heading to another location.

SpongeBob and Patrick stood up. They saw Squidward chasing the jellyfish that stung his nose.

"Hey, look! Squid's doing it!" SpongeBob pointed at Squidward.

SpongeBob and Patrick then continued cheering Squidward on with encouraging words.

Squidward stayed focused as he chased the jellyfish.

The group of jellyfish from before floated around a large pink rock.

The jellyfish Squidward chased also stopped and floated around the pink rock.

Squidward caught the jellyfish with his net.

The octopus laughed by honking his nose.

SpongeBob and Patrick were clapping.

The pink rock suddenly began to move upward.

SpongeBob and Patrick suddenly stopped clapping and became quiet.

The jellyfish surrounding the rock moved upward as well.

The pink rock was a giant jellyfish.

Squidward was one of the most unfortunate creatures of the sea.

"This guy's good." Patrick marveled at Squidward.

"He's a natural!" SpongeBob smiled.

They foolishly kept cheering Squidward on.

Meanwhile, Squidward was desperately wheeling away from the giant jellyfish. This time, he was being chased and the giant jellyfish was chasing him.

**CRASH**

The wheelchair hit a rock and collapsed.

**THUD**

Squidward fell to the ground.

The giant jellyfish prepared its stingers with numerous amounts of blue electricity, the surrounding jellyfish backed away.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!**" Squidward screamed in terror as the stingers came closer.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP**

Squidward received an electrifying punishment one-hundred times worse than getting burned by the soup.

"Oooh." SpongeBob and Patrick watched the scene unfold. They sweatdropped.

"I think Squid needs to go to the hospital again." SpongeBob bit his lip.

S-S-S-S-S

An hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were walking to Squidward's tiki, they were covered in bandages from the Sting Recovery area of Jellyfish Fields.

"Hey, Patrick. Well..." *sighs* "Thought today went... pretty well, don't you think?" SpongeBob was reflecting on what happened today.

"I had fun." Patrick smiled.

"Me too." SpongeBob smiled.

Out of nowhere, a whirring sound was heard and became increasingly louder.

"Here comes Squidward!" Patrick pointed towards the horizon.

SpongeBob shifted his vision to the horizon.

"Oh, great." SpongeBob became jolly.

Squidward was in a cast and was laying down on a stretcher. The sting from the giant jellyfish nearly zapped and injured his entire body. The stretcher assisted him in moving around without using his legs.

"Hey Squid! How about that..." SpongeBob walked up to Squidward.

Squidward ignored him and kept moving his stretcher towards his tiki.

"...best day ever?" SpongeBob was trying to catch up with Squidward.

"There's always tomorrow!" Patrick was optimistic.

BAM

BAM

BAM

Squidward tried to open the door by hitting it with his stretcher, he couldn't open the door normally due to his inability to move his limbs.

"Um... we're really sorry about what happened today, Squidward." SpongeBob attempted to apologize, he was being sincere.

BAM

BAM

BAM

Squidward kept hitting the door with his stretcher, he wanted to avoid SpongeBob and Patrick as much as possible.

"Um... we got you a present!" SpongeBob took something out of his pocket. It was a jar with the jellyfish that stung Squidward on the nose inside of it. "It's the jellyfish." SpongeBob made a wide smile.

Squidward turned his stretcher around and made a vicious glare.

"You know, from an hour ago!" Patrick actually had a decent enough memory to remember what happened.

"You're not still mad, are you?" SpongeBob made a nervous smile and sweatdropped as Squidward moved towards him with his stretcher.

"Yup, he's still mad." Patrick was the first to realize that Squidward wasn't friendly and wanted to kill them after the events that happened.

Squidward bumped his stretcher on the jar with the jellyfish on purpose.

"W-woah." SpongeBob lost his grasp of the jar.

A glass explosion.

Glass shards littered the floor, the lid suddenly began to float.

The jellyfish shook the lid off of itself. "BUZZZZZZZ!" It saw SpongeBob and Patrick and charged its stingers.

"Uh oh." SpongeBob gulped.

The two friends began to run as fast as possible.

**ZZAP**

**ZZAP**

The jellyfish chased them and stung them.

Squidward laughed by honking his nose inside his cast.

He turned his stretcher around and continued to hit the door.

**BAM**

**SLAM**

He managed to open the door.

Squidward went inside his tiki and closed the door by turning his stretcher around.

He moved his stretcher to another door.

**BAM**

**CRREEEAK**

Squidward only had to hit the door once.

His backyard garden came into view.

And most of the plants were eaten by the group of jellyfish from before.

The group of jellyfish saw Squidward and immediately fled from the garden.

Squidward screamed inside his cast in rage.


	7. Plankton!

**Chapter 7: Plankton!**

* * *

It was Tuesday evening.

Four metal spider legs were climbing up a dark surface.

They reached a windowsill and stood on top of it.

C-CLACK

The four metal spider legs retracted to a metal backpack.

A large eye with a red pupil was looking through the window. It focused on a small bottle with a rolled paper inside of it adjacent to a sleeping Mr. Krabs.

Two antennae made a slight shadow on the room as light from the moon came in.

Standing before the window was a small green plankton.

The plankton was holding a tiny remote. He pressed an even tinier button.

CTHUNG

A laser gun popped out of the backpack.

**ZAAAP**

It shot out a green laser that traced a small circle through the window.

The plankton dove into the room.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs was snoring. He was dreaming about swimming in an ocean of money. The crustacean was wearing light blue pajamas.

The plankton tip toed with his stubby feet across the room.

The plankton eventually reached the bottle.

CTHUNG

Two spider legs came out of the backpack and grabbed the small bottle.

CTHUNG

Another two spider legs came out and helped the plankton run quickly towards a door.

The two spider legs pitter-pattered as they stepped on the green wooden floor.

Mr. Krabs turned to another side on his bed, he was still sleeping.

The plankton froze. He didn't want to wake Mr. Krabs up.

The bottle slipped out of the two spider legs' grasp. The plankton's halt was too abrupt.

**CLINK**

The bottle landed and rolled on the floor.

The plankton winced.

Mr. Krabs slowly opened his eyes, the sound woke him up. "H-huh?"

C-CLACK

The spider legs retracted to the backpack and the plankton laid down on the floor, he camouflaged his green body with the green floor. He closed his eye so it didn't blow his cover.

Mr. Krabs saw the bottle rolling along the floor.

He stood up and picked the bottle up. "Oh. It's just you." He laid down on his bed with the bottle in his claw. Mr. Krabs went back to sleep. The snoring resumed.

The plankton opened his eye and saw the bottle in one of Mr. Krabs' claws. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, the tiny creature didn't want to wake up Mr. Krabs again by his loud cursing.

C-CTHUNG

The four metal spider legs came back out.

The plankton walked towards the bed on all four legs.

He made a mighty leap thanks to the metal limbs.

The sharp limbs held on to one of the sides of the bed as the plankton landed.

He climbed his way up until he reached the top of the bed.

The plankton stood before the slumbering body of Mr. Krabs. The crab seemed to be a giant from the green creature's view due to his tiny size.

C-CLACK

The four limbs retracted.

The plankton began to climb up Mr. Krabs' body, he was heading for the glass bottle being held by his claw.

Mr. Krabs turned to the other side of the bed, the plankton's limbs were tickling him.

The plankton tumbled across Mr. Krabs' belly. "W-woah." The plankton whispered loudly, he didn't want to scream.

He rolled off Mr. Krabs' body and fell to the other side of the bed.

He gripped the sheets of the bed with his two hands, he was hanging over the edge.

The plankton pulled himself up, he was sweating.

He took a deep breath.

He climbed up Mr. Krabs' body once again.

The plankton reached the arm of the claw holding the bottle.

C-CTHUNG

The four limbs came out of the backpack.

One limb removed the bottle cap from the bottle.

And another took the rolled paper. The plankton actually wanted the paper and not the entire bottle.

The other limb put the cap back into the bottle.

Plop!

The plankton jumped down to the floor, landing on all four metal limbs.

He quickly ran to the door.

The plankton jumped to the knob.

**CREAK**

He nimbly twisted the door slightly open with the metal limbs.

Plop!

He jumped to the floor.

The plankton squeezed through the ajar door.

The green creature smirked as he ran down the hallway with the paper.

S-S-S-S-S

The bottle slipped off Mr. Krabs' claw.

**CLANK**

It collapsed to the floor.

Mr. Krabs opened his eyes, he became wide awake.

He noticed that the bottle was on the floor. "What now?" He picked it up.

On close examination, he realized that the bottle was empty.

"Something smells fishy..." Mr. Krabs' eyes narrowed.

The crab walked across the room.

**CRRREEEAK**

The crustacean opened the already ajar door and stepped into the dark hallway.

Mr. Krabs heard very light pitter-pattering.

He looked to his right.

For some odd reason, the rolled paper that was inside the bottle was floating near the floor and away from Mr. Krabs. The crustacean couldn't really see who or what was carrying it.

**FLICK**

Mr. Krabs flicked on a light switch that was right next to the door.

Light shined through the hallway. It revealed a tiny green plankton with a metal backpack. Four metal spider limbs were protruding from the backpack, two of them were carrying the rolled paper, the other two were quickly running across the floor.

"Ah. My age old nemesis." Mr. Krabs frowned and began to run after the plankton.

"Fish paste!" The plankton pressed a button on his remote.

CTHUNG

The laser gun popped out of the backpack.

**ZAP**

It shot out a bright green laser beam towards one of Mr. Krabs' feet.

The laser hit Mr. Krabs' foot and left a burn.

"Yeow!" Mr. Krabs hopped on one foot, he slowed down.

The plankton made an evil laugh. The spider limbs ran even faster to chase off Mr. Krabs. He entered and sprinted across the living room.

**THUD**

Mr. Krabs could no longer catch up with Plankton. He tripped and fell to the floor.

**ZAAAP**

A laser beam came out of the laser gun of the plankton's backpack. It traced a circle through the front door of Mr. Krabs' anchor.

The plankton dove through the hole.

It seemed that all was lost.

S-S-S-S-S

"Heheheheh. Looks like my schemes are finally working." The plankton made an evil smile, he was absorbed into his sudden success.

A large shadow in the form of a worm loomed over him.

The plankton looked up and his eye widened.

"**GRRRRRRR!**" An angry Mr. Bubbles gritted his teeth. His eyes were glaring at the tiny creature.

"**NEPTUNE DAMMI-**" The plankton exclaimed before...

Mr. Bubbles grabbed the plankton by biting him and shook the creature furiously in the air.

The worm's teeth crushed the metal backpack and the four limbs protruding from it. The rolled paper fell to the ground.

"**AaAaAaAaAaAahh!**" The green creature struggled to scream as he was shaken in the air.

**CRRRREEEEEAK**

Mr. Krabs opened the entrance to his anchor. He was smirking.

The crab picked up the rolled paper and made a pirate laugh.

"**CuRSe YOu KRaaAAaaBS!**" The plankton shook his fist as Mr. Bubbles kept shaking his body.

"Alright, Mr. Bubbles. You can stop now. I think the captive has already walked the plank." The crustacean showed an expression of satisfaction.

Mr. Bubbles spit the plankton to the ground.

The small creature shook the saliva off his body. He then immediately began to escape by running.

Mr. Krabs picked the plankton up by his antennae. He lifted the creature until they were face-to-face.

The crustacean shook his head. "Why in the world do you think you can steal a pirate's treasure when you don't even have a crew of your own? Or a SHIP of your own for that matter." Mr. Krabs pointed at the plankton's broken backpack.

The plankton's face became just as red as Mr. Krabs', he was full of rage.

Mr. Krabs twirled the plankton's body by his antennae and threw him far into the air.

"Good riddance." The crustacean went back inside.

**CRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

The door was shut.

Mr. Bubbles went back to sleep.

S-S-S-S-S

A small plume of sand.

A pause.

It dispersed to reveal the plankton laying on the ground.

The plankton stood up and rubbed his head. *sighs* "Another day, another failure." He turned around and looked forward.

Before him was a giant metal bucket. 'Chum Bucket' was written in red paint above the entrance which consisted of a double door. The roof had its handle being held by a giant glove hand. The building directly faced the Krusty Krab which was across the street.

The plankton walked to the Chum Bucket.

Creak

Slam

He only needed to open one of the doors ajar so he could go inside.

S-S-S-S-S

The plankton walked across a dining room. Like the Krusty Krab, it had tables, seats, an ordering window; and all of those features. However, it was not pirate themed. The floor and walls were a cold and tasteless metal. The entire room seemed to be more like a laboratory instead of a place to eat.

The small creature opened another door ajar and went to the next room.

He was in a giant laboratory. The room had a giant computer, strange machines that ordinary people don't understand or use; and other tools that scientist use.

The plankton turned a switch from 'OFF' to 'ON'.

The giant computer turned on. Green text flew from bottom to top across the screen as the machine started up.

A pause.

A green line in the center of the screen appeared. The computer was 'silent' for a bit.

"Well, Plankton? You got the formula?" A female electronic voice came out of the computer. Like a seismograph, the intensity and length of the voice appeared in compressed green waves.

"No, Karen. I did not." The plankton had an expression of disappointment. His eye was looking down at the floor.

"As expected." Karen droned. Her asking the plankton that question and him failing to get the formula happened so many times that this became a usual event for her. The plankton rarely goes for more than two weeks without trying to steal the formula and he sometimes does it daily.

"Open up the journal." The plankton spoke a command he did almost every night. It was like a bedtime ritual.

"Opening the journal..." Karen obeyed the command.

A ridiculously long list of documents appeared on the screen, the plankton had written down his exploits ever since he and Mr. Krabs became rivals. The computer was showing the documents at the bottom of the list which were the most recent. The documents get older as the list goes up.

The plankton climbed up to the keyboard. "New document." He droned another command.

A blank page appeared on the screen.

The plankton quickly hopped from key to key, he was too small to use the keyboard with his hands.

* * *

Time:11:23 PM Date: February 5, 2008

Instead of infiltrating the Krusty Krab as I usually do, I decided to pay Krabs a visit to his house instead. I have discovered the location of his home after a week of spying and on the day after that (which is today), I decided to take action. However, when I actually entered the anchor, Krabs as always had the upper hand. The formula was right next to him as he slept and that made it very difficult to obtain the bottle. I nearly got caught in the act when the bottle fell to the floor by accident. Although I was able to snatch the paper out of the bottle and escape the room. For some reason, Krabs woke up and caught on to my plan. He attempted to chase me but that was when the laser gun became handy and I zapped him on the foot. Although I wasn't prepared to deal with his pet worm and he destroyed my backpack (CURSE YOU KRABS!). I was soon kicked out of his property.

Mission Result: FAILURE

* * *

"Save document." The plankton unemotionally stated a command.

The computer returned to the list of documents while adding the new document to the list.

"Good night, Karen." The tiny creature laid down on the perimeter of the keyboard.

"Good night, Plankton." Karen responded.

A pause.

The plankton fell asleep.

"Shutting down..." Green text flew across the screen once again as Karen shut down.

**FLICK**

Karen turned off the surrounding lights as she shut herself down. Only the green light from the computer's screen remained.

The screen turned black.

Darkness enveloped the room.

S-S-S-S-S

The next morning...

S-S-S-S-S

The sun was above the horizon. However, it wasn't at the highest point in the sky. Dawn had passed away a few hours ago.

SpongeBob was walking towards the Krusty Krab. After working in the restaurant for more than a week, he started to look forward to every day of flipping patties. He was truly enjoying the job he got employed in.

Squidward walked along with him. He had fully recovered from his crippled leg and the sting from the giant jellyfish. Mr. Krabs had to take his place as cashier for the last two days.

The octopus sighed at the thought of Mr. Krabs reducing his paycheck due to his absence.

They eventually stopped before the locked entrance of the building. The two put their employee hats on.

And right next to the entrance was Mr. Krabs, he got there earlier than SpongeBob and Squidward. He showed a serious expression and was folding his arms.

"Mr. Krabs? Why did you came so early?" SpongeBob was the first to notice Mr. Krabs. His boss always came last and it was unusual for him to come this early.

"Let me guess, you're mad because I couldn't come to work yesterday and the day before that." Squidward prepared himself for what Mr. Krabs was about to say.

"Mr. Squidward, I'm not here to scold you. However, I will cut your paycheck for me doing work that you were supposed to do." Mr. Krabs spoke solemnly.

Squidward groaned.

"But there is something else far more important right now. It was the reason I came early and waited for you two." Mr. Krabs maintained his serious expression.

"What was the reason?" SpongeBob became curious.

"Get to the point." Squidward was a little ill-tempered, he didn't take getting paycheck cuts from an already low-paying job lightly.

"Last night, Plankton attempted to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula at my own home. His tactics have become more aggressive than the average robberies that he had done countless times before. Instead of being incredibly obvious, he has become more covert and less detectable. Plankton must've found a sneaky way to find out where I live and snatch the formula without me even noticing. My lads, for the rest of the day you work here please keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activity. Plankton wasn't able to get away with the formula this time because I was lucky enough to have Mr. Doodles on patrol when he tried to escape."

SpongeBob was scratching his head, he was heavily confused at Mr. Krabs' words. "Who's Plankton?"

"You're right, SpongeBob. I forgot to tell you about who Plankton is." Mr. Krabs took his key out and unlocked the door.

**CRRREEEAK**

The door opened.

SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward went inside.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs sat down on a seat near a table.

SpongeBob sat down on a seat as well.

The two were across from each other.

"Plankton is the owner of the Chum Bucket which is right across the street." Mr. Krabs pointed across the street to where the Chum Bucket stood.

"I've never noticed that building before. Hehe." SpongeBob tried not to be too silly.

"For many years the Chum Bucket has competed with the Krusty Krab in the fast food business. Even going so far as to being strategically placed near our location when it was being built to attract potential customers. However, the Chum Bucket is nothing compared to our restaurant. We get far more profits than that bucket of junk across the street. This is why Plankton wants to get the Krabby Patty secret formu-" SpongeBob interrupted Mr. Krabs.

"What's the Krabby Patty secret formula?" SpongeBob mostly understood what Mr. Krabs said but was lost when he started to talk about the formula.

A long pause. Mr. Krabs was silent.

SpongeBob noticed that Squidward was standing near the table and was watching and hearing the conversation.

The sponge moved his lips without using his voice. 'What happened?'

'Wait for it...' Squidward also communicated silently.

The two were fortunate that the both of them could lip-read.

"SpongeBob..." Mr. Krabs began to speak.

SpongeBob stopped moving his lips and focused his attention back to Mr. Krabs.

"It's time to teach you what the Krabby Patty secret formula is. " Mr. Krabs had a dire demeanor.

SpongeBob's eyes sparkled in wonder.

"Every Krusty Krab employee, even a person as lazy as Squidward, must be taught the formula." Mr. Krabs stood up.

SpongeBob stood up as well.

"Come to my office. Once you get there, we will begin your initiation to becoming a true employee." Mr. Krabs walked to his office.

SpongeBob followed.

CRRREEEAK

Mr. Krabs opened the door and let SpongeBob walk in first.

SLAM

He shut the door.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs locked the door with several locks, he put a key through each.

The crustacean put the key away and took out the bottle with the formula. "The paper inside this bottle has the ingredients for the Krabby Patty. You are already familiar with how the ingredients look like but now you must memorize the names of each ingredient."

SpongeBob took a deep breath, he waited for Mr. Krabs to reveal the ingredients.

"I shall now tell you the formula. The ingredients are not listed in order but you know how to make a Krabby Patty so that shouldn't be a problem." Mr. Krabs took the bottle cap out of the bottle.

He took the rolled paper out of the bottle.

SpongeBob's body was shaking, he couldn't contain his excitement.

The paper rolled down and revealed the ingredients to Mr. Krabs' eyes.

"Ingredients for the Krabby Patty. One sprinkle of sesame seeds. One seaweed bottom bun. One squirt of ketchup. One squirt of mustard. One squirt of mayonnaise. One sprinkle of relish. One slice of undersea cheese. Three slices of pickles. One slice of lettuce. Two slices of tomatoes. One slice of onion. Two pinches of sea salt. Three squirts of tartar sauce. And a seaweed top bun." Mr. Krabs was reading the ingredients out loud.

SpongeBob diligently memorized what Mr. Krabs said.

"The ingredients I have just told you are only most of the list. Plankton has only found out a few of these ingredients but could never find the right amounts to make a Krabby Patty. I will now tell you the ingredients for the patty, which make up the rest of the list. One ingredient that is definitely used for the patty and on this list is a pinch of chum."

SpongeBob's eyes bugged out in shock.

"Plankton already knows that the patty consists of chum but he doesn't know that there is another ingredient to the patty. And that ingredient is the Krabby sauce. That sauce is the secret ingredient of the Krabby Patty and is what makes the burger delicious, chum and the other ingredients only add to the flavor. The recipe of the sauce was passed down to me from countless generations of the Krabs family. Since the recipe of the sauce belongs to my family, that is why the sauce is called Krabby sauce and the burger is called a Krabby Patty. Employees of the Krusty Krab like you, SpongeBob." Mr. Krabs pointed at SpongeBob. "Are considered an extension of the Krabs family because you continue their legacy by making Krabby Patties and serving them at expensive prices which also endures the piracy of older Krabs generations. My lad, you will now have the gift of knowing what the Krabby sauce is made of."

SpongeBob had a deadpan face, was standing straight, and gave Mr. Krabs eye contact; he was paying his upmost respect.

"The ingredients for Krabby sauce are: flour, barnacle shavings, land salt, turmeric, King Neptune's Poseidon powder, and the most important ingredient for both Krabby sauce and Krabby Patties: love." Mr. Krabs spoke the ingredients out loud.

SpongeBob carefully memorized each ingredient.

"The Krabs family and King Neptune made a deal a long time ago where King Neptune gave the special powder he uses to make dishes of his own to them and they give him Krabby Patties in return. To keep up the deal, the Krusty Krab has to unfortunately give a tiny part of its profits to King Neptune so he can use the money as he wishes. But even if all of those conditions are met, a Krabby Patty's taste can never be at its greatest potential without the love and passion of the people who make it. It's those people that make sure they memorized the ingredients and cook the patties to the best of their ability that make a Krabby Patty always taste so good."

SpongeBob slowly nodded his head. He took ever word seriously.

"Squidward, however, is not one of those people. That's why he can't cook Krabby Patties." Mr. Krabs smirked.

They both laughed.

The crustacean rolled the paper and put it back into the bottle. He sealed the bottle with the bottle cap. "You must now vow an oath of secrecy-" Mr. Krabs stopped speaking.

SpongeBob put a hand over his heart. "I vow with all my heart and soul as a Krusty Krab employee to not give or tell anyone the Krabby Patty secret formula if they want to know or obtain it for malicious or questionable reasons. If I do tell or give it to them for the reasons stated before, Mr. Krabs will fire me and ban me from entering the restaurant."

A pause. Mr. Krabs was searching for words to say.

He eventually found them. "You pretty much got the gist of it. Although banning you from the restaurant is a bit excessive, I will abide by what you just said."

"Is it over?" SpongeBob was wondering about how much time they were in the office.

"It's over, lad. When we come out of my office, I'll continue to tell you more about Plankton."

"Roger that, sir." SpongeBob nodded.

Mr. Krabs took the key out and unlocked all the locks on the door.

**CRREEEEAK**

The two stepped out to the dining room.

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs shut the door.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was napping on the boat with the cash register.

SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs sat down on the same table, they were once again across from each other.

"As I stated before, the Krusty Krab is far more successful than the Chum Bucket. That is why Plankton wants to get the Krabby Patty secret formula. If he gets the formula, he can use his advanced technology to create a burger that is superior than that of the Krabby Patty. The Chum Bucket would thrive and the Krusty Krab would go out of business. And that means you won't have a job." Mr. Krabs pointed at SpongeBob.

The sponge's face turned pale, he was terrified that such a possibility could exist.

"And you know what's even worse? Who knows what Plankton could do with all that money. If he's that desperate to get the secret formula, he also probably desperate to take over the world." Mr. Krabs was fear-mongering at this point.

SpongeBob shook in his seat, he was wracked with anxiety.

"Alright lads, BACK TO WORK!" Mr. Krabs shouted an order.

SpongeBob ran to the kitchen.

Squidward woke up.

S-S-S-S-S

A few hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was the afternoon.

Creak

Plankton opened the door. He walked out of the Chum Bucket.

Slam

The creature shut the door.

He was carrying a repaired metal backpack.

"I'll see how this turns out." Plankton made an evil giggle. He spent all morning coming up with another scheme.

C-CTHUNG

The four spider limbs protruded from the backpack.

Plankton quickly ran with the metal limbs towards an unsuspecting customer heading to the Krusty Krab.

He leaped and landed on the customer's back. The landing was gentle enough for the customer to not notice.

The customer entered the Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

The moment the customer stepped into the Krusty Krab, Plankton jumped off his back.

He landed on a window.

With the assistance of the spider limbs, Plankton nimbly climbed the wall.

The movement created a light pitter-pattering. However, the conversing of the customers in the Krusty Krab was loud enough to make them not hear the sounds.

Plankton eventually reached the roof and looked from above.

He saw the same customer order a Krabby Patty.

"Perfect." Plankton smirked.

S-S-S-S-S

"One Krabby Patty for table two. SpongeBob, I don't have the whole day." Squidward looked at the line of customers in front of him.

He wrote an order on a sticky note and put it on the metal ring of the ordering window.

S-S-S-S-S

"Oui, oui. Un Krabby Patty, Monsieur. First, les patty." SpongeBob was cooking patties in the kitchen. He was faking a French accent.

He flipped a completely cooked patty to the air with his spatula.

SpongeBob turned his head sideways above the grill.

The patty landed in one of his holes.

He grabbed the other ingredients for the Krabby Patty, they were near the stove.

"Come on, SpongeBob!" Squidward looked at SpongeBob from the ordering window, he was becoming impatient.

"Next, les ingredients." SpongeBob threw the ingredients to the air. "Ah, oui!" He hurriedly moved his body so all the ingredients landed in his holes.

"Les mustard." The sponge squeezed some mustard into one of his holes.

"Les ketchup." The sponge squeezed some ketchup into another hole.

"Les quit fooling around, where's my Krabby Patty?" Squidward became irritated at SpongeBob's foolish behavior.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton jumped off the roof and landed on the dusty floor of the storage area, the place was scarcely used. He was right above the kitchen.

CTHUNG

A laser gun came out of the backpack.

**ZAAP**

A bright green laser came out of the gun and traced a hole through the ceiling.

Plankton dove in.

He landed on top of the closet.

The small creature watched SpongeBob make a Krabby Patty.

S-S-S-S-S

"Les hold on a second!" SpongeBob shook his body, he mixed the ingredients inside his head into a Krabby Patty.

"And voila!" He put a hand into a hole and took out a freshly made Krabby Patty.

"Finally." Squidward rolled his eyes.

SpongeBob walked to another table in the kitchen to find a plate for the Krabby Patty.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton used the metal limbs to walk hastily across the walls of the kitchen.

SpongeBob took a plate off the pile of plates on the table.

Time slowed.

The green creature timed his jumping just right.

SpongeBob was putting the Krabby Patty on the plate.

Plankton leaped to the plate.

The Krabby Patty concealed his presence just as he landed.

Time resumed.

SpongeBob didn't notice that Plankton was under the Krabby Patty.

He quickly ran back to Squidward and put the Krabby Patty under the octopus's nose. It looked like he pulled the Krabby Patty from Squidward's nose. "It's under your nose!" SpongeBob laughed.

Squidward pretended to laugh. "You're killing me SpongeBob! Ha ha ha… you really are." The octopus was bitterly sarcastic.

"Look at it, Squidward. Mr. Krabs' gift to all of Bikini Bottom, the Krabby Patty..." SpongeBob looked at the burger he was holding with wonder.

"Okay, give it to me." Squidward put his hand out so he can receive the Krabby Patty.

S-S-S-S-S

"Time to take action..." Plankton spoke under the Krabby Patty. He made the metal limbs lean down.

Plankton made a mighty jump to one side of the wall, his hands grabbed on to the Krabby Patty right before his feet left the plate.

S-S-S-S-S

"Huh? Where did it go?" SpongeBob frantically searched around the kitchen for the missing Krabby Patty.

"Come on SpongeBob, stop it!" Squidward became frustrated.

"I swear I'm not doing anything." SpongeBob looked to a side of the wall and noticed that the Krabby Patty was sticking on it.

"Aha!" SpongeBob smiled and ran to the Krabby Patty, he jumped up and tried to

grab it.

The Krabby Patty suddenly jumped again and landed on the floor. It crawled to the exit of the kitchen.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton made a metal limb lift up.

Creak

He opened the door and exited the kitchen with the patty.

S-S-S-S-S

The Krabby Patty accelerated towards the exit of the Krusty Krab.

SLAM

SpongeBob barged the ajar door open. "Mr. Krabs! The Krabby Patty is haunted!"

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs heard SpongeBob's scream.

He put down the money he was counting.

The crustacean stood up from his desk. "Haunted patty, ay? That sounds awfully familiar..."

Mr. Krabs walked to the door and opened it.

S-S-S-S-S

The red crab ran from his office and chased the 'haunted' Krabby Patty.

He pierced the burger with one of his stubby feet.

S-S-S-S-S

"Tartar sauce!" Plankton looked up and saw a red, stubby foot making a hole through the patty.

The green creature could no longer move the Krabby Patty.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs lifted up his foot and shook the squished patty off of it.

Below him was a small plankton with a metal backpack that had four metal spider limbs protruding from it. A familiar sight from last night.

"Avast, ye patty pirate! This is no ghost. This is…" Mr. Krabs took a magnifying glass out of his pocket and put it above the tiny creature. He inspected the robber to see who it was.

The magnifying glass showed a close-up of Plankton's face. "Plankton! Stealing me booty!"

SpongeBob walked up to the scene.

"Hear me Krabs. When I discover your formula for Krabby Patties, I'll run you out of business. I went to college!" Plankton made a big threat for his small size.

Mr. Krabs grabbed Plankton by the antennae and lifted him up.

"Hey! Let me go!" Plankton shook his arms and legs in the air.

C-CLACK

The metal limbs retracted to the backpack.

"Oh I'll let you go, squirt." Mr. Krabs looked at SpongeBob, he pointed at the plate that SpongeBob was holding. "Can I have that?"

"Yessir." SpongeBob gave Mr. Krabs the plate that used to hold the Krabby Patty.

"On a flying saucer!" Mr. Krabs laughed. He dropped Plankton on the plate.

The crustacean was preparing to throw Plankton out of the Krusty Krab.

SpongeBob walked away and opened one of the front doors so there was room for Plankton to be thrown.

"Back to the Chum Bucket with you!" Mr. Krabs threw the plate and Plankton in tow across the dining room.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, KRABS!" Plankton yelled as he spun on the plate and was being flown.

Plankton and the plate flew through the open doorway.

SpongeBob closed the door. "I didn't know Plankton was tiny. Hehe." He giggled for a bit.

"That's why I said to watch out. Due to his size and intelligence, he can be unexpected and unpredictable." Mr. Krabs walked up to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob was looking through the door and at the Chum Bucket, he was watching Plankton fly towards the building.

"Back to work!" Mr. Krabs commanded.

"Aye, aye sir!" SpongeBob walked back to the kitchen.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was 6:00 PM.

SpongeBob tossed a wet towel into an empty and clean trash can, he was finished with cleaning the tables.

Squidward walked out of the kitchen after washing his hands, he was finished with throwing out the trash.

A pause.

Mr. Krabs walked out of his office after putting the money away, he was finished with counting today's profits.

"Closing time!" Mr. Krabs barked an order.

"Finally." Squidward quickly exited the Krusty Krab.

"Okay, Mr. Krabs. See you tommorow!" SpongeBob was cheerful as always. He walked out the door.

"Good night, me boy!" Mr. Krabs exited the restaurant and locked the door.

The crustacean walked to the horizon and vanished.

SpongeBob was alone. Squidward was jogging ahead of him, every second of not hearing or seeing SpongeBob was precious to the octopus.

The sponge kept smiling as he walked at a normal pace back to his home.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton was on the roof of the Chum Bucket, he was spying on someone with a telescope.

The lens of the telescope was facing a walking SpongeBob.

'So he's the Krusty Krab's newest employee. Out of all the newbies I've seen the Krusty Krab hire, this guy has to be the most innocent and gullible. Maybe pulling off a simple trick will make him spill the formula.' Plankton smirked at his thought.

He put the telescope away and ran downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

Creak

Plankton opened the front door and exited the Chum Bucket.

Slam

He closed the door.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked past the Chum Bucket. It was only more than thirty seconds since he started to walk back home.

Plankton ran past the sponge.

The tiny creature halted and turned around, he stood in front of SpongeBob.. "Psst... young man." Plankton whispered.

Plankton's small size and the darkness of the night made it difficult for SpongeBob to see him.

SpongeBob was looking at his surroundings to see where the voice was coming from. "Who's that?"

"Yes, over here. Come on boy, a little closer." Plankton motioned with both of his hands for SpongeBob to walk forward.

Although SpongeBob couldn't see Plankton motion with his hands, he stepped forward anyway.

"Closer..." Plankton continued to motion for SpongeBob to walk forward.

SpongeBob walked a few steps.

"Not that close!" Plankton winced as SpongeBob's shoe stepped forward in front of him. "YEOW!' Something was pressing on Plankton's foot and created pain.

SpongeBob felt something under his shoe. He lifted that particular foot up.

Plankton was hanging off the shoe while one of his feet were flattened under the sole of SpongeBob's shoe, he had stepped on Plankton's foot.

"You blasted barnacle head! I mean... hi." Plankton prevented himself from releasing an angry outburst.

SpongeBob peeled Plankton off his shoe and put him on his other hand.

"Plankton? What do you want?" SpongeBob was curious about why Mr. Krabs' archenemy was interested in him.

"I just want to talk. You could say we're friends, right?" Plankton was smiling.

"Um... no." SpongeBob wouldn't consider people who try to run the Krusty Krab out of business as friends.

"Acquaintances?" Plankton was determined at finding common ground with SpongeBob.

"No." SpongeBob awkwardly spoke and shook his head.

"Well, we're both invertebrates. Aren't we?" Plankton kept smiling.

"I... guess so." SpongeBob shrugged his shoulders.

"You see? Everything works out. I have something for you. I've been keeping it in my secret compartment." Plankton took out a shiny golden spatula from his pocket. "Ding! Sparkle, sparkle." He spoke in unison with the sparkles of the spatula.

"Wow! A golden spatula!" SpongeBob took the spatula that Plankton was offering, the golden bait had lured him into Plankton's trap.

The sponge flipped the golden spatula to the other side. On the other side of the spatula's handle was an inscription that said 'SPONGEBOB'.

"And it's even got my name on it." SpongeBob made a wide smile.

"It's a gift! A gift from a friend." Plankton hugged SpongeBob's thumb. "Friends give each other gifts. And tomorrow is my birthday." He put a small birthday hat on his head and SpongeBob's thumb. "And you know what I'd like more than anything in the whole wide world?"

"A booster seat?" SpongeBob made a wild guess.

"Booster seat?" Plankton took off both hats and put them away. "Hot dog! I mean, no. What I want for my birthday from you my friend, is one of those... tender... delicious... KRABBY PATTIES!" Plankton got carried away while fantasizing about those particular burgers.

SpongeBob gasped and dropped Plankton to the ground.

"You just want to be friends so you can get your hands on a Krabby Patty! And I bet it's not even your birthday tomorrow." SpongeBob figured out Plankton's scheme.

Plankton facepalmed. "Gee, and I thought you were stupid."

"You'll never get a Krabby Patty from me!" SpongeBob began to run back home. "Even if we are friends! Never, never, never, never!"

SpongeBob vanished from the horizon.

"Oh, I'll get a Krabby Patty and you're going to hand-deliver it to me personally! You weak-minded fool!" Plankton made an evil laugh and walked back to the Chum Bucket.

Creak

He opened the door and went inside.

Slam

He closed the door.

Plankton entered his laboratory.

The metal backpack was leaning on one side of the wall.

He took the backpack and snatched a screwdriver along the way.

Plankton laid the backpack on a metal table.

He took the screwdriver and unscrewed the bolts on the backside of the backpack. The contents were revealed as the bolts were taken off the small and lightweight device.

Plankton walked around the laboratory and grabbed other tools and machine parts.

He walked back to the metal backpack and began to make tweaks. He quickly switched from one tool to the next and added machine parts here and there.

S-S-S-S-S

An hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

FLICK

The lights in the bedroom were turned off.

Gary slithered to the pile of newspapers.

SpongeBob walked into the room, he was in his underwear.

He laid down on his bed and put the blanket over himself. "Good night, Gary."

"Meow." Gary then closed his eyes and slept.

SpongeBob closed his eyes and fell to the sweet darkness as well.

S-S-S-S-S

There were several beeps and boops.

Plankton nimbly hopped from one key to the next.

On the screen of the computer were numerous lines of code for a certain program.

Plankton halted as he landed on the final necessary key. He looked up to the screen and showed an expression of satisfaction. "Finished."

"Program named 'Mind Control' has been saved." Karen droned in her electronic voice.

"Now all I have to do is transfer this program to my new and improved backpack." Plankton jumped down to the floor.

He rummaged through the laboratory and found a large USB cable.

Plankton connected one end of the cable to the computer's USB port while he connected the other end to a recently built-in USB port on the backpack.

"Transfer 'Mind Control'." Plankton commanded.

"Transferring..." Green text flew across the screen as the computer transferred the program to the backpack. The program was enormous and much time was needed to move such a large chunk of data.

Plankton waited for a few minutes.

"'Mind Control' has been successfully transferred to device labeled 'Backpack'." Karen reported on what happened.

Plankton walked to the backpack.

He grabbed a remote that was laying on the table.

The small creature put the backpack on his shoulders; it was heavier than last time but nonetheless still manageable to be carried.

Plankton pressed a button on the remote.

Several electric wires came out of the metal backpack as if they were tentacles.

"Perfect..." Plankton rubbed his hands and thought of all sorts of evil schemes he could pull off with the device.

He pressed the same button on the remote.

The wires retracted.

Plankton pressed another button.

Rocket boosters came out of the backpack; the device had became a jetpack.

The boosters turned on and left two fiery trails.

Plankton exited the laboratory as the rockets made him fly in the air.

He soon left the Chum Bucket and headed elsewhere in the night sky.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton landed in front of SpongeBob's pineapple.

The rocket boosters stopped emitting fire and retracted to the backpack.

Plankton looked up to the metal door that was the entrance to the pineapple. Due to his size, opening doors such as that one would pose a problem.

A laser gun popped out of the backpack.

ZAAP

A bright green laser came out of the gun and traced a circle through the door.

Plankton squeezed himself through the hole, the traced circle was uncomfortably small.

S-S-S-S-S

The green creature entered the living room. All the lights in the pineapple were turned off and it was somewhat dark.

Plankton silently tip-toed across the room and entered the stairwell.

He hopped from one step to the next, his feet sounded like feathers as he landed on each step. The last thing Plankton wanted to do was wake up SpongeBob.

He stopped in front of another metal door.

ZAAP

The laser gun fired another bright green laser and traced a circle through the door.

Plankton dove in.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton smirked at the sight of SpongeBob sleeping on his bed. "SpongeBob, you will be mine!" He made a quiet evil laugh.

The small creature walked up to SpongeBob's bed.

Four metal spider legs came out of the backpack.

Plankton effortlessly climbed up the bed.

The metal limbs retracted.

Plankton walked into one of SpongeBob's holes.

S-S-S-S-S

A dark, yellow cavern.

Plankton was walking through the twists and turns of the holes of SpongeBob's body.

"It should be in here... but where?" Plankton was trying to find out where the cranium was located.

He accidentally bumped into something that was pink and squishy.

"Where? Oh..." Plankton was standing in front of SpongeBob's brain. "This will be the beginning of the end!" He took out the remote and raised his finger to press a button.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob felt a ticklish sensation inside his head.

He rolled to his left while still sleeping.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's cranium suddenly tilted.

Plankton tripped as SpongeBob rolled left.

He lost his grip of the remote as he fell.

The remote rolled down SpongeBob's cranium.

"Come back here!" Plankton ran after the remote.

S-S-S-S-S

The sensation inside SpongeBob's head became even more ticklish.

SpongBob rolled to the right, his slumber was being disturbed.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's cranium tilted again.

The remote fell to the other side...

SMACK

...and hit Plankton in the face.

S-S-S-S-S

The tickling sensation stopped.

SpongeBob laid down on his back and resumed to peaceful sleep.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton wobbled

"That's it!" Plankton lost his temper.

He peeled the remote off his face.

His other hand dug into his pockets and took out duck tape.

Plankton taped the remote to his metal backpack, it was right next to his head.. "Yes, yes, that's grand." He smirked again. "And now, for my very elaborate and college-educated plan." He pressed a dark red button on his remote.

The electric wires came out of the backpack and connected to SpongeBob's brain.

A joystick and two red and blue buttons protruded from the remote as if the gadget became a video game controller.

Plankton took the backpack off his shoulders and put it on the spongy floor so he could easily access the remote.

"And now it's time for a little wakey-uppy." He pressed the blue button.

An electric pulse was sent from the backpack to the wires, the electric pulse then went from the wires to the brain.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's eyes flew wide open. "Morning already?"

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton pressed the red button and moved the joystick.

He was giggling.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's legs unnaturally turned to a side of the bed and he fell down.

"Maybe my legs are sleeping." The sponge had no clue of what was happening.

S-S-S-S-S

The cranium shook.

Plankton nearly fell down.

"I should be more careful next time." He regained access to the remote.

He pressed the blue button and moved the joystick in a certain direction.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob immediately stood up and walked like a robot towards a door.

"I… I feel a little funny today." SpongeBob noticed that he was walking in a strange manner.

S-S-S-S-S

"I have you now!" Plankton pressed both red and blue buttons and moved the joystick in a circle.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened the door and walked downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton leaned the joystick forward as much as possible.

S-S-S-S-S

"Time for a well-balanced breakfast." SpongeBob abruptly turned towards a wall and walked straight to it.

SLAM

CRASH

He walked straight through the wall.

CLANK

CRASH

SpongeBob walked through the fridge. A loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, and an egg carton were on top of his head. "This isn't what I had in mind."

He left a tunnel through the wall and fridge in the shape of his body.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary woke up.

He noticed that there were loud sounds coming from the kitchen.

He slithered through the open doorway and went downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened a door and entered the living room.

His pants was on the couch.

"Let me just grab my pants." SpongeBob's head turned towards the pants.

His legs kept moving in the same direction.

"I guess I'm not wearing any pants today." SpongeBob faced forward.

He walked towards a wall.

SLAM

CRASH

SpongeBob walked through the wall.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary slithered into the living room.

"Meow." He saw SpongeBob leaving the pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

"I guess I'm not using the door either. See you later Gary! ...I guess." SpongeBob was walking away from the pineapple.

"Meow." Gary made a loud meow.

"You're right, Gary! There is something wrong with me!" SpongeBob noticed that he was walking towards Squidward's tiki. "Squidward! Squidward! Wake up! I need some help!" SpongeBob was desperately calling for Squidward.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward woke up due to SpongeBob's yelling.

"Be quiet, SpongeBob!" Squidward became ill-tempered.

S-S-S-S-S

"Squidward! Help!" SpongeBob continued to yell for Squidward's assistance.

He was walking closer and closer to the wall of the tiki.

S-S-S-S-S

SLAM

CRASH

Squidward heard the loud sounds, his eyes widened. "What in Neptune was that?"

He exited the bedroom and ran downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward entered the living room.

SpongeBob was walking robotically across the room, he had went straight through the wall of the tiki.

"Heeelllp!" SpongeBob saw Squidward and screamed for help.

"SpongeBob! What are you doing? I'm talking to you! SpongeBob! SpongeBob, are you mad?" Squidward became angry and confused at the same time.

SpongeBob kept walking.

**SLAM**

**CRASH**

He walked through the wall on the opposite side.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton pressed a button on the remote.

A connected microphone flew out of the backpack.

Plankton pressed the joystick down.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stopped walking and stood still. "I... c-can't move... I'm... stuck." He tried to move his arms and legs but they wouldn't move an inch.

"You got some explaining to do." Squidward walked up to SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton pressed a red button on the remote.

He moved the joystick in a semicircle.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's head turned around like an owl, he faced Squidward. "W-what's happening?" The sponge was becoming anxious.

Squidward dropped his jaw in disgust and shock.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton grabbed the microphone and began speaking.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob suddenly lost control of his mouth and facial muscles.

His face slowly changed to show a dire expression.

"Shut your mouth, you mediocre clarinet player." SpongeBob's lips moved and he was talking. Strangely, the voice was not SpongeBob. It was as if the sponge was possessed by a spirit.

"Mediocre?" Squidward raised his brow. SpongeBob would never talk to him like that.

"You pretentious little insignificant artist. Your snivelly creations are worth less than a protozoan's waste!" SpongeBob's personality was completely different, he became cold-hearted.

SpongeBob regained control of his face. "Something must be wrong with my brain!" SpongeBob's eyes rolled back.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's eyes looked inside his cranium.

He saw Plankton and a backpack with electric wires connecting to his brain.

*gasps* "Plankton! What kind of friend are you?" SpongeBob discovered the culprit of his strange behavior.

"You never liked me anyway. You wouldn't even come to my birthday party!" Plankton spoke through SpongeBob's mouth with the microphone.

"Get out of my head! Leave my brain alone!" SpongeBob was begging for Plankton to desist his actions.

"Never! Never!" Plankton spoke through SpongeBob's mouth and made an evil laugh.

Plankton moved the joystick in a semicircle.

SpongeBob's head turned around 180 degrees and was back to normal.

Plankton pressed the blue button.

SpongeBob's eyes rolled back to their normal positions.

Plankton leaned the joystick forward.

SpongeBob resumed his walking.

S-S-S-S-S

CRRREEEEAK

The rock opened.

Patrick jumped to the ground. He woke up from the loud crashing sounds that were coming from outside.

SLAM

The rock closed.

Patrick was walking towards SpongeBob's pineapple until he noticed a hole on the exterior that was in the shape of SpongeBob's body.

He looked towards Squidward's tiki and saw two holes that went through the house with the same shape.

He walked up to Squidward who was nearby. "What happened?"

"Plankton has apparently put SpongeBob under mind control and is probably taking him to the Chum Bucket. What Plankton might do could make SpongeBob lose his job." Squidward explained to Patrick. It wasn't like the octopus was going to do anything, SpongeBob not working in the Krusty Krab would make one aspect of his life more bearable.

"He's gonna hurt my buddy!? I don't know who Plankton is but if he messes with SpongeBob he's messing with me too! Where did SpongeBob go?!" Patrick became enraged, his voice sounded like he was nearly commanding Squidward to answer the question.

Squidward pointed towards the direction where the holes went. "That way."

"SpongeBob, I'm coming to save you!" Patrick ran to that direction and vanished from the horizon.

Squidward made a laugh by honking his nose. "I hope for the best." The octopus hoped for Plankton to successfully steal the formula, things would be more peaceful at the Krusty Krab.

A pause.

He then realized that Plankton stealing the formula would make the Krusty Krab go out of business and he would be jobless as well.

"Patrick, wait for me!" Squidward ran after Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was heading straight for the Krusty Krab.

"Toot toot! How about a little take-out?" Plankton spoke through SpongeBob's mouth.

"No, never!" SpongeBob tried his best to resist Plankton's control over his body.

**SLAM**

Glass shattered and littered the ground.

**CRASH**

Some wood became broken and littered the floor.

SpongeBob walked through the wall and entered the Krusty Krab.

He opened a door and went inside the kitchen.

"Don't think I don't know how to cook a Krabby Patty. I've trespassed into this establishment enough times to know some things." Plankton's voice spoke.

SpongeBob turned on the grill.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton had successfully made a Krabby Patty without SpongeBob's assistance. He would've cooked one himself if not for the lack of ingredients and his small size.

SpongeBob held the Krabby Patty with his two hands and walked out of the Krusty Krab through the same hole. The sponge's body was forced to walk towards the Chum Bucket.

Plankton made an evil laugh inside SpongeBob's cranium.

"You can't fool me Plankton, you want the Krabby Patty secret formula!" SpongeBob was aware of Plankton's ultimate goal.

"You are going to hand it over to me personally!" Plankton spoke through SpongeBob's mouth.

SpongeBob opened the door and entered the Chum Bucket.

"No, no, no!" SpongeBob yelled in desperation.

He was walking through the empty and metal cafeteria.

"There's no one here..." SpongeBob's eyes looked around.

Plankton groaned inside SpongeBob's skull. "Don't remind me."

SpongeBob was walking closer and closer towards a double door.

"Brace yourself, SpongeBob. This is my laboratory!" Plankton made his signature laugh.

"I must fight!" SpongeBob wasn't going to give up. He couldn't bear to watch himself lose his job and make the Krusty Krab permanently closed.

He stretched his head and bit into the side of the double door, he was going to do anything at this point.

The rest of his body opened the door and kept walking into the laboratory.

SpongeBob's head wouldn't budge.

S-S-S-S-S

"Oh no, no, no, no." Plankton shook his head while smirking.

He pushed the joystick forward.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's teeth slipped off the side of the double door and his head went inside the laboratory.

The sponge halted and stood uneasily for a bit but he soon regained his balance and continued walking.

"There, you see how much easier it is when you help, friend? How do you like my analyzer? It tells the ingredients of whatever I put into it." Plankton spoke inside SpongeBob.

SpongeBob stopped before a machine with a giant funnel.

"Watch and learn. Karen! Bring in the robot arm." Plankton commanded the computer through SpongeBob's mouth.

A robot arm came out of the ceiling while holding some seaweed.

The metal limb dropped the seaweed into the funnel of the analyzer.

ZZAP

The seaweed was zapped inside the funnel.

Green text flew across the computer's screen and several beeps and boops were heard as Karen analyzed the seaweed.

A pause.

"Seaweed. 50% sea, 50% weed." Karen's electronic voice was heard.

"Isn't that just the name of the plant?" SpongeBob became curious.

"I can simply ask Karen to do a more in-depth analysis if I wanted to. Anyways, let's reveal that secret formula!" Plankton made a wide smile inside the sponge's head.

SpongeBob made a deadpan face.

The time has came.

S-S-S-S-S

"And this little piggy brought home a Krabby Patty." Plankton pressed a button on the remote.

S-S-S-S-S

One finger from each of SpongeBob's hands released their grip from the patty.

SpongeBob gulped and began to express anxiety.

S-S-S-S-S

"This little piggy will help me drop it in." Plankton pressed another button on the remote.

S-S-S-S-S

Two more fingers from each hand released their grip from the burger.

There were only two fingers left that were still holding the patty.

"Any last words, SpongeBob SecretPants?" Plankton spoke inside SpongeBob's head with arrogance, he was already feeling the victory and accomplishment of a fulfilled deed.

"I just have to say that I'm sorry I let Mr. Krabs down." Tears leaked from SpongeBob's eyes and ran down his cheeks. "I let all of B-Bikini Bottom down. But w-worst of all, I let you down, you d-delicate little Krabby Patty." SpongeBob looked down at the Krabby Patty.

"Mmm..." Plankton licked his lips and began fantasizing about Krabby Patties.

"With your tasty, juicy, scrumptious, warm, steamy goodness." SpongeBob continued his last words.

Plankton began to drool, he was getting hungry. "Steamy…"

"I'll never forget your 100% all-secret patty, secretly assembled with undersea cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion, all secretly steamed between two fluffy seaweed-sea buns." SpongeBob remembered what Mr. Krabs told him this morning.

"Yes… yes… YES!" Plankton's hunger was so potent that it overcame all senses of his reasoning.

He ran through one of SpongeBob's holes and jumped out of SpongeBob's body. "COME TO POPPA!"

Plankton landed on the patty and attempted to bite it...

...only for him to bounce off and land inside the analyzer.

"Oh boy..." Plankton realized his foolish mistake.

ZZAP

"AAAAAHHHH!" Plankton yelled in agony as he was zapped inside the funnel.

Green text flew across the screen of the computer as it did its analysis.

"Plankton. 1% evil, 99% hot gas." Karen spoke the results of the analysis in an unemotional manner.

Plankton's flesh was charred. He attempted to escape the funnel but was unable to do so. "Well, this stinks."

SLAM

The double doors were barged open.

An angry Patrick stomped into the laboratory. Squidward was following him.

"Patrick? Squidward?" SpongeBob's eyes widened in shock.

"Step aside, SpongeBob. I'm here to teach whoever hurt you a lesson... IN PAIN!" Patrick palmed his fist.

"Heh. Yeah. Pain is the only thing Patrick can teach." Squidward then giggled at his own joke.

"Fish paste! I didn't know SpongeBob had friends." Plankton whispered loudly, his eye bugged out.

Patrick heard the whisper. "Aha! So it was you!" Patrick walked to the funnel.

Squidward took a close look. "Yep. It's Plankton alright." He nodded his head.

"Why're you helping him, Squid? Aren't you suppose to be 'beauty' sleeping?" SpongeBob was scratching his head, Squidward was normally grumpy if his sleep was interrupted.

"I'm trying to keep my job. Do you ever use critical thinking for at least a second?" Squidward raised his brow, he became annoyed at SpongeBob's question. He unintentionally showed that he was grumpy from his lack of sleep.

"Oh. Sorry." SpongeBob smiled nervously.

Patrick picked the machine up.

"You gotta be kidding me." Plankton looked at the floor that was below him.

"This is what happens when you hurt my buddy!" Patrick screamed at Plankton's face.

He threw the machine to the ground.

Glass shattered and littered the floor.

Machine parts flew across the room.

A pause.

Plankton dug himself out of the rubble. He walked uneasily and was rubbing his head.

Patrick grabbed Plankton and threw him across the room.

Plankton hit the floor several times before he finally landed to a stop.

"Pat, stop! You're taking this too far!" SpongeBob grabbed Patrick's leg.

Patrick shook SpongeBob off his leg.

Plankton's backpack fell from one of SpongeBob's holes as the sponge slid across the floor.

"I'm sorry SpongeBob but he deserves this. You would've lost your job and your life would've been ruined if he got away with his plan. I can't forgive people like HIM!" Patrick kicked Plankton as he said 'HIM!'.

Plankton flew in the air and then rolled further across the laboratory.

He eventually stopped rolling and stood up, the small creature became extremely pissed off. "So you wanna fight me, eh?" Plankton noticed that his backpack was nearby.

"YEAH! LET'S GO!" Patrick ran towards Plankton, the sea star was going to beat the small creature to a pulp.

In three seconds Plankton...

Dove to the backpack and put it on his shoulders.

Turned on the rocket boosters.

And flew out of the way as Patrick charged towards him.

Patrick inhaled the exhaust of the rockets as he ran across the laboratory.

He coughed for a bit.

The sea star looked up.

Plankton was hovering over him on a jetpack. "This is what happens when you mess with an evil genius!" He mocked what Patrick previously said.

CTHUNG

A laser gun popped out of the jetpack.

ZZZAAP

The gun fired a green laser.

Patrick jumped out of the way.

The laser left a smoking hole on the floor.

C-C-C-CTHUNG

Several laser guns popped out of the jetpack.

Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAAAAAP

All the laser guns fired at the same time.

Patrick dove out of the lasers' range.

The lasers made a small burning crater on the floor.

"This is gonna get ugly." SpongeBob gulped in anxiety.

"C'mon, SpongeBob! We gotta get out of here!" Squidward was running to the double door.

"Alright." SpongeBob followed him.

S-S-S-S-S

The two hid behind a table in the empty cafeteria.

"Squidward, I'm scared." SpongeBob was sweating and his body was shaking.

"The worst thing you can possibly do right now is for you to start talking and annoying me." Squidward folded his arms.

"I'll be quiet." SpongeBob bit his lip and kept his mouth shut.

It was eerily silent.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick looked at his surroundings.

He found a nearby machine.

Patrick ripped a metal piece off the machine and threw it at Plankton.

Plankton quickly dodged it by flying to another direction.

The metal piece landed on the wall and fell down to a table full of glass vials.

The table was knocked over to one side as the metal piece landed.

The glass vials flew in the air and landed on the floor.

The containers broke into a sea of shattered glass and littered the floor with their remaining pieces.

Plankton gritted his teeth. His face turned crimson and steam came out of his ears. Patrick had crossed the line. "THAT'S IT! PLAY TIME'S OVER!"

The laser guns on the backpack became larger.

Z-Z-Z-Z-ZZZZZAAAAAAAAP

Five bright red lasers fired out of the guns.

Patrick ran and dodged the lasers.

BOOM

CRASH

The lasers left a large hole in the wall.

Z-Z-Z-Z-ZZZAAAAAAAAAP

The bright red lasers chased Patrick's heels.

"Yikes." Patrick ran in a circle below Plankton.

The sea star jumped to another side of the laboratory.

Plankton noticed that he had traced a circle on the floor with the lasers.

A large circular portion of the laboratory's floor fell down a few feet.

The tiny creature became even more angry.

Plankton flew directly towards Patrick.

Patrick immediately grabbed a large machine and threw it at Plankton.

SMACK

The machine hit Plankton.

CRASH

Plankton and the machine crashed into the other machines in the laboratory.

The laser guns were broken off the backpack.

They slowly turned into a dark red.

"Uh oh." Plankton sweatdropped. He couldn't escape under the pile of metal rubble.

Patrick ran to the double doors and exited the laboratory.

KABOOOOOOOM

The laser guns exploded.

A long pause.

Charred metal objects were all over the floor.

An almost coal-black Plankton was laying on the floor.

Plankton stood up.

He scanned his damaged laboratory.

The Krabby Patty was not in sight.

"What happened to that Krabby Patty?" Plankton scratched his head.

His eye suddenly widened when he remembered something. "Uh oh."

He ran to the double doors.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob slightly winced at the thought of what happened in the laboratory. "I feel bad for Plankton. His laboratory got destroyed..." He showed sympathy for even the most evil of villains.

"Be grateful that you have a damn job and the Krusty Krab is still in business." Squidward was losing his temper at a rapid pace.

"Oh yeah. Hehe. Right." SpongeBob smiled and sweatdropped.

"Can we go home now? I kicked Plankton's butt and he sure won't be hurting my buddy again. Isn't that right, SpongeBob?" Patrick patted SpongeBob on the shoulder.

"Umm... Pat, he doesn't want to hurt me. He wants something else..." SpongeBob tried to not sound awkward.

"He's trying to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula and will 'hurt' anybody so he can obtain it. The Krabby Patty that SpongeBob was holding is what he truly wanted. " Squidward explained to Patrick.

"Oh. But what's the Krabby Patty secret formula? Is it a drink?" Patrick was confused.

"It's the recipe used to make Krabby Patties. However, we can't tell anybody what the ingredients are. That's why it's called a SECRET formula." Squidward continued to speak.

"You can't even tell your best friends? I'm a trustworthy person." Patrick smiled, he tried to look innocent.

"Forget about it. Let's just go home." Squidward lost his patience and walked towards the exit.

"Well patty, I guess we can go home now." SpongeBob looked down at the Krabby Patty he was holding and smiled widely.

CRREEAK

Plankton exited the laboratory and ran towards SpongeBob. "SpongeBob, that's my Krabby Patty! Give it back, you porous freak!" He was desperate.

"No one calls my buddy a porous freak!" Patrick stomped towards Plankton and palmed his fist.

SpongeBob grasped Patrick's shoulder.

Patrick halted.

The sea star turned around to make eye contact with SpongeBob.

SpongeBob shook his head and released his grip from Patrick's shoulder.

Patrick turned around and walked away.

He pushed SpongeBob and Squidward out of the Chum Bucket.

The three neighbors began to walk home.

Plankton was still following them. "I COMMAND YOU! MY PATTY!" His face was turning red.

"Shut up already." Patrick grabbed a rock and threw it at Plankton.

**BONK**

The rock hit Plankton on the head.

Plankton fell to the ground and became unconscious.

* * *

**I would like to kindly remind my readers to please leave a review. Although I will continue this story anyway, I would appreciate it if you gave feedback. **


	8. Naughty Nautical Neighbors

**Chapter 8: Naughty Nautical Neighbors**

* * *

There was one large eye. It was dark yellow and had a crimson pupil. The eye was floating in a void of darkness.

"**GIVE IT TO ME**." A demonic voice was heard.

A pause.

"No. I'll never hand it over." SpongeBob spoke boldly. He was floating in the darkness with the large eye.

"**GIVE ME THE FORMULA! OBEY MEEEE!**" The eye was becoming angry.

**RRRRRUUUMMMMMBLE**

The void was shaking and SpongeBob was feeling it. He gulped and took a deep breath. "You'll never have the formula!" SpongeBob built up the courage to disobey the eye.

The rumbling stopped.

"**YOU REFUSE TO TAKE HEED AND COMPLY TO MY ORDERS?**" The eye enlarged and floated closer to SpongeBob.

"All you want is the Krabby Patty secret formula. I will never break the promise that I made to Mr. Krabs!" SpongeBob was resolute.

**"THEN I SHALL GET IT THROUGH FORCE." **The eye began to glow.

SpongeBob slowly backed away.

**CRUNCH**

The eye broke into several pieces as if it was made out of glass. The glowing shards surrounded SpongeBob and got closer and closer as they flew in circles around him.

SpongeBob desperately tried to escape the belt of glass but was unable to do so. Some force similar to gravity was pulling him towards the shards.

The glowing shards eventually made contact with SpongeBob's skin. They then immediately went inside SpongeBob's holes.

SpongeBob felt a strange sensation as the floating pieces invaded his body. It felt like there were gusts of wind coming from all directions of the void and were passing through his holes.

The sponge felt a ticklish sensation inside his chest. He looked at his chest and noticed that it was glowing. "Uh oh." He began to sweat in anxiety.

A blinding flash of light came from his chest. The glowing shards came out of his holes and formed into the shape of a burger. The glow faded to reveal a Krabby Patry.

"Hey! Give that back!" SpongeBob ran to the Krabby Patty.

The Krabby Patty quickly ascended.

**SMACK**

SpongeBob hit an invisible wall.

The Krabby Patty suddenly became larger.

A small speck of light appeared in the darkness and abruptly enveloped the void.

SpongeBob closed his eyes and covered them with his hands, he was temporarily blinded.

A pause.

He opened his eyes.

SpongeBob was inside the analyzer in the laboratory of the Chum Bucket. The sponge seemed to have shrunk in size. A giant Plankton was in front of the analyzer and was holding the Krabby Patty.

"**IT'S MINE NOW. HEHEHEHEHEHEH!" **Plankton was speaking in a demonic voice.

"Noooo!" SpongeBob attempted to climb up the analyzer but slipped and fell back down. He then repeatedly banged his fists on the glass of the funnel. Escaping was futile and it would only delay the inevitable.

Plankton dropped the Krabby Patty into the analyzer.

Plop!

It landed on top of SpongeBob.

**ZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP**

"**AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" **SpongeBob screamed in agony as he was electrocuted by the green electricity of the analyzer.

His vision faded and the darkness returned.

A pause.

SpongeBob felt the ground below him, he was laying down somewhere outdoors.

He opened his eyes.

Mr. Krabs was standing in front of him, he seemed to be upset. Squidward was standing right next to the crustacean, he was smiling for some odd reason.

"SpongeBob, you're fired." Mr. Krabs couldn't hide his disappointment.

The employee hat on SpongeBob's head erupted into flames.

Squidward started to laugh by honking his nose.

The flames spread to the rest of SpongeBob's body. His yellow flesh was slowly and painfully burned to a crisp.

"**AAAaaaAAAaaaAAHH!"** SpongeBob struggled to scream as he was transformed to smoking ashes.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's eyes became wide open.

He immediately sat up in his bed, the blanket was covering most of his body. He wiped sweat off his brow. "Phew. That was just a nightmare." The torture he had experienced was in the realms of fantasy. However, it was a definite reminder of what happened last night.

SpongeBob looked at the foghorn.

It was 6:00 AM.

"Ooh. That's a little early. Better find something to do." SpongeBob was too awake to go back to sleep. He took the blanket off his body and got off the bed.

Gary opened his eyes. "Meow." The snail was drowsier than usual. He didn't like waking up early.

SpongeBob put on his shoes.

**CRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

He opened the door and went downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

**CREEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited his pineapple. In his hand was a bubble wand and a bottle of bubble soap. The sponge thought that bubble blowing would be a pleasurable activity until he went to work.

The sky was a fading dark blue as the golden rays of the sun rose up from the horizon, dawn was dying.

SpongeBob walked to his backyard and sat down on the ground. 'I hope I don't bother anybody.' He looked at his surroundings to make sure he was alone. SpongeBob opened the bottle of soap and dipped the wand into the bottle.

SpongeBob took a deep inhale.

He blew into the wand.

A line of bubbles in single file order came out of the hole of the wand. They flew in the air for several seconds before they were scattered by an incoming wind.

S-S-S-S-S

A stray bubble flew near Patrick's rock.

**POP**

The bubble popped once it made contact with the surface of the rock.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick woke up, he was in purple pajamas. He heard the popping of the bubble from outside.

**THUD**

The sea star fell from his couch.

Patrick stood up and stripped his pajamas off. What was left was his usual floral pants. "What was that?" The sea star became curious about the sound he heard from outside.

**CRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

Patrick exited his rock.

S-S-S-S-S

The sea star saw SpongeBob blowing bubbles while sitting in his backyard. "I wanna blow some bubbles too." Patrick felt like he was left out.

He went back into his rock. Loud sounds of the displacement of objects could be heard.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute of searching later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

Patrick came back out with a bubble wand and a bottle of soap. Spending the morning by bubble blowing with SpongeBob seemed to be ideal. He sat down adjacent to his rock.

He took a deep inhale.

The sea star blew into the wand.

A few bubbles came out of the hole. Patrick had been practicing this form of art for more than a week since the bubblestand incident. Signs of improvement have recently began to appear.

S-S-S-S-S

POP

POP

POP

The bubbles that Patrick blew popped in front of SpongeBob.

SpongeBob stopped inhaling, he had been hearing loud sounds since he began bubble blowing but could no longer ignore them.

"Hmm?" SpongeBob scanned his surroundings to see where the bubble came from. He noticed that Patrick was sitting on the yard of his rock and was directly facing SpongeBob. The sponge smiled.

SpongeBob inhaled and whispered into the wand as he blew into it. The bubble came out of the wand and flew towards Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Hi, Patrick."

SpongeBob's voice could be heard as the bubble popped in front of Patrick.

"Huh?" Patrick gave SpongeBob a puzzled look.

SpongeBob pointed at his wand while pretending to whisper into it.

"Oh!" Patrick realized what he had to do as he looked at his wand. The sea star inhaled and then whispered into his wand while giggling as he blew. The bubble gently flew out of the wand and headed towards SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Hi, SpongeBob."

Patrick's voice could be heard as the bubble popped in front of SpongeBob.

SpongeBob giggled. He took a deep inhale and then whispered as he blew into his wand. The bubble came out of the wand and flew towards Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Patrick, you're my best friend in the whole neighborhood."

Patrick made an inhale and then whispered as he blew into his wand. The bubble came out and flew towards SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "You too, SpongeBob."

SpongeBob made an even louder giggle as he heard Patrick's voice.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward heard the laughter of two familiar people.

He awoke from his slumber and arose from his bed. The octopus looked at his clock and it said 6:17 AM.

*groans* "Why are those two barnacle heads disturbing me at this hour?" He was already in a bad mood. Squidward looked down at his bed. "There goes my beauty sleep." The octopus didn't bother to go back to sleep, SpongeBob and Patrick would constantly keep him awake.

Squidward left his bedroom and stomped down the stairs.

S-S-S-S-S

The octopus entered the kitchen. "Might as well eat my breakfast early." Squidward opened his fridge and searched through its contents. He eventually found something that gave him a good idea and made him grin. "You've just hit the jackpot, Squidward."

S-S-S-S-S

Several more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward opened the oven and took something out. He was donned in a chef's outfit.

The octopus put that something on a table. "Wow. Squidward, this is the best soufflé you have ever created. Congratulations, chef! " He immediately took off the outfit and ran upstairs.

He took a shower, brushed his teeth, and changed to another outfit in a single minute.

Squidward walked into his kitchen once again, he was wearing a tuxedo this time. The octopus was narcissistic enough to believe that making his best soufflé was considered a formal occasion.

He sat down at the table and prepared to eat the soufflé with his knife and fork.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were up to their usual foolishness. They were sending immature jokes to each other through the bubbles. The two were laughing as the bubbles popped and their voices were heard.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward heard the laughter. He groaned and banged his fist on the table in grumpiness. The octopus stood up and stomped over to the rear window so he could watch what the two morons were doing.

He saw SpongeBob and Patrick laughing while communicating to each other by blowing bubbles. "That's funny? Something as redundant as blowing bubbles?" Squidward raised his brow.

The octopus turned around and looked at his meal. Purple liquid was leaking from the soufflé while the fork and knife laid on the plate.

Squidward was deep in thought.

A pause.

A lightbulb lit up in Squidward's head.

"Three can play at that game." Squidward made an evil smile. He walked back to the table and put the fork in the purple liquid. The octopus then walked back to the window with the fork and soufflé as if they were a bubble wand and soap bottle.

Squidward opened the rear window. He inhaled and then whispered as he blew into the fork, the octopus was mimicking the behavior of SpongeBob and Patrick.

A purple bubble came out of the fork and headed towards Patrick.

Squidward chuckled as he thought of Patrick's reaction.

S-S-S-S-S

The purple bubble pushed SpongeBob's bubble out of the way, it then continued its flight towards Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Patrick, you are the dumbest idiot it has ever been my misfortune to know."

Squidward's voice was released as the bubble popped near Patrick.

Patrick frowned as he heard the rude comment. He whispered into the wand as he blew another bubble. The bubble formed in the wand and gently flew towards SpongeBob's direction.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Do you really think that, SpongeBob?"

The bubble popped and Patrick's voice was released.

SpongeBob whispered into the wand as he blew a bubble. The bubble came out of the wand and flew towards Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Of course, Patrick. Anyone with eyes can see that."

Patrick became angry as he heard his best friend's voice. SpongeBob had unintentionally lit off a match that would create a major wildfire. Patrick whispered into the wand as he blew several bubbles.

The group of bubbles headed towards SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Yeah? Well, I think you're ugly."

POP "Yellow is ugly!"

POP "PBBBBBT!"

POP "Ppppt'!"

Patrick's voice and two raspberry sounds were heard in consecutive order.

"Patrick, what are you talking about?" SpongeBob spoke into his wand as he blew a bubble, he was expressing concern for Patrick. The bubble was released from the wand and flew towards Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward digged the fork into the purple liquid and whispered into the utensil as he blew another bubble.

The bubble came out of the fork and flew towards SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "SpongeBob, I no longer wish to know you. You give bottom dwellers a bad name."

SpongeBob gasped. He looked at Patrick in utter shock.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was laughing by honking his nose. "This is priceless." He managed to speak while laughing. The octopus then whispered into the fork as he created more bubbles.

A few purple bubbles were unleashed towards SpongeBob and Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "If I had a dollar for every brain you don't have, I'd have one dollar. "

SpongeBob became irritated as he heard Squidward's voice as the bubble popped, he was beginning to lose his temper.

S-S-S-S-S

POP "Hey, Patrick, I heard there was a job opening down at the pet shop... as some newspaper!"

Patrick's face turned crimson and steam came out of his ears, he had reached his limit. The sea star immediately stood up. "Well, that makes you a big dummy, you dummy!" He shouted and pointed at SpongeBob.

SpongeBob stood up in his backyard. "Yeah, well, that means that, uhh... so are you!" He attempted to retort Patrick.

"Right, you're a turkey!" Patrick was already running out of ideas for insults.

An awkward pause.

"What's that?" SpongeBob became irate. He tried to see if Patrick had the guts to continue his insults.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was suffocating in sadistic laughter. "I'm a genius." He had felt proud for the act of sweet revenge that he had just committed, it was a just punishment for him getting stung by a giant jellyfish that other day.

"Better enjoy it while it lasts." The octopus put his souffle on the table and ran upstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later…

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward walked into the kitchen, he was wearing his normal attire and was holding a lawn chair that he had found in a closet. He took the souffle from the table and carried both items as he walked to the front door.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEAK **

**SLAM **

Squidward had entered the outside world. He set the lawn chair on his front yard and laid down on it. The octopus took a deep inhale and enjoyed the smell of the fresh morning air, the loud and ongoing insults of SpongeBob and Patrick were like music to his ears.

"Maybe working in the Krusty Krab won't be so bad after all." Squidward made a genuine smile and began to eat his souffle.

The sun rose from the horizon and illuminated the sky. Dawn was put to rest and morning took its place.

Squidward smiled even more. He marveled at the majesty of the sun as it shined to the ocean floor. After the hell he had to go through once SpongeBob got hired at the Krusty Krab, nothing could make this day any better. Working as a cashier in the Krusty Krab was only a mere annoyance at this point.

S-S-S-S-S

"It's what you are!" Patrick wasn't intimidated at all.

"Well, you're a bigger one!" SpongeBob was struggling to make a good joke, he was also running out of ideas.

"Well, you're still yellow! And you know what else is yellow?" Patrick's anger worsened as the verbal fight dragged on.

"What?" SpongeBob raised his brow.

"You are!" Patrick pointed at SpongeBob. The sea star had spoken one of the dumbest jokes ever heard by SpongeBob's ears.

"Oh, yeah? Well it doesn't matter what you call me, 'cause I never wanna see you again anyway!" SpongeBob turned his back to Patrick and walked to the garage door, he was sick of arguing with his best friend. When he stood before the garage door, he realized that the crowbar was inside the pineapple. "Aww, tartar sauce!" He went around the perimeter of the pineapple.

**CRREEAK**

**SLAM!**

SpongeBob shut the door hard.

Patrick walked to his rock.

**CRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

The sea star entered his home and the rock was shut.

At that moment, SpongeBob and Patrick's bond was broken into fragments of former friendship.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob sat down on the couch. He was ill-tempered and crossed his arms. "Hey... Gary." The sponge oddly wasn't his cheerful self.

Gary gave SpongeBob a funny look. "Meow?" The snail had lived with SpongeBob long enough to know that whenever SpongeBob wasn't in an optimistic mood, something bad must have happened.

The sponge could no longer hide the truth of what recently happened from his pet snail. *sighs* "Gary... I'm no longer friends with Patrick." SpongeBob eyed the floor and frowned.

Gary's eyes bugged out. It was shocking news indeed.

"I've realized that Patrick's just a barnacle head. He says hurtful things to people without thinking of the consequences. Not everybody in Bikini Bottom hates him because that jerk wears a mask so he can stab people behind the back when they get to know him." SpongeBob's emotions dictated what came out of his mouth instead of letting rational thinking take over.

A pause.

Gary looked at SpongeBob for several seconds and then resumed to watching television; he didn't know what to say.

SpongeBob took a deep breath. He attempted to stuff his built-up emotions away by making his eyes focus on the bright screen as well.

After a while, SpongeBob stood up from the couch and walked upstairs to his bedroom.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick was sitting on the couch. His face was deadpan and he was staring off into space.

Several minutes flew by.

'This is boring. I need to find something to do.' Patrick thought for a moment.

The sea star stood up and walked to the kitchen. He was about to open the fridge when he saw a magnet on the upper door of the fridge that showed a picture of him and SpongeBob.

The innocent picture twisted the knife in the wound of Patrick's mind.

Patrick became angry and threw the picture to the floor. "I don't wanna remember that... **bully**!" The sea star struggled to use his primitive brain to find the right words to say. He furiously opened the bottom door of the fridge and took out some bottles of water. The sea star walked to a table and sat down on a seat.

He began to mindlessly drink his thoughts of SpongeBob away.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was laughing as he thought of the misery going on in SpongeBob and Patrick's homes. Years of being tortured by the two fools made him sink to an all-new low in finding ways to restore the peace the neighborhood once had.

Unfortunately, he began to laugh while he was in the middle of eating another piece of the soufflé.

The fork got inside his throat.

Squidward choked on the utensil. He fell from the lawn chair and was on his knees as he grasped his throat. His skin turned into a dark blue as the octopus's oxygen was further and further depleted.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick finished drinking his last bottle of water.

Silence. There was the faint sound of choking.

Patrick's eyes bugged out. "Uh oh. Someone's in trouble!" He suddenly became smart enough to realize that someone was choking.

The sea star dashed out of the kitchen.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward's oxygen level was too low. His body collapsed to the ground and he became unconscious.

**CRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

Patrick exited his rock.

He saw the unconscious body of Squidward and gasped. The starfish could play hero and gain a new friend to replace the gaping hole that SpongeBob left behind. Patrick ran towards Squidward.

As the sea star was running, he suddenly forgot what to do.

Patrick stood before the motionless Squidward. "Wow, Squidward, you're choking!" He didn't even realize that Squidward was already unconscious. "Uhh... uhh, I know what to do, but I should wash my hands first. Oh, well." He eventually remembered what to do.

Patrick took a deep inhale.

He bended down and performed CPR on the octopus. Squidward's unconsciousness spared him from the horror of bearing witness to the event.

The fork came out of Squidward's mouth and Patrick caught it. "I win!" The sea star was oblivious to the profoundness of what he just did.

Squidward slowly stood up and saw Patrick holding the fork. His eyes widened and something deep inside of him changed. It reminded him of SpongeBob's proposal to visit Goo Lagoon as an apology. "Wow! Patrick, you saved me!" Squidward was awestruck.

"I did?" Patrick was scratching his head. He had forgotten his original reason for giving CPR to Squidward.

"Yup! You're a real lifesaver..." Squidward took the next word he was about to say with heavy consideration.

A long pause.

"...friend." Squidward held his hand out.

"Friend?" Patrick was still confused.

An awkward pause.

"Friend..." He eventually remembered the original intent of his actions. Patrick smiled as he learned that Squidward had became his new friend and that his plan had succeeded. He grabbed Squidward's hand and the two shook hands.

Patrick continued to shake Squidward's hand for an uncomfortably long time.

"Yeah, Patrick, we're friends..." Squidward took his hand off of Patrick's, stepped back, and sweatdropped. "Just friends."

The strange feeling of being watched by someone slowly crept up to the two new friends. They looked up towards SpongeBob's pineapple.

SpongeBob was silently watching them from the bedroom window, he had seen the entire event.

Squidward was somewhat creeped out but soon returned to making eye contact with Patrick.

Patrick shrugged his shoulders. "So what are we gonna do today, best friend?"

"Well, I was going to practice my clarinet solo." Squidward was contemplating.

"Clarinet? I love music!" Patrick seemed to be just as cheerful as SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

"Ahh, who needs them? They're no fun anyway, right, Gary?" SpongeBob looked away from the window.

Gary wasn't in the room. He had slithered back to the living room.

"Gary?" SpongeBob thought that Gary was still in the room.

S-S-S-S-S

CRRREAK

Squidward opened the door and held it for Patrick.

Patrick walked into the tiki.

SLAM

The door was shut.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward walked upstairs to the music room while Patrick followed him. They soon entered the room.

"Squidward will be performing his version of Solitude in E minor." Squidward took out his clarinet and turned the pages on the sheet holder.

Patrick sat down on a chair. "Yeah! E minor! All right! Yeah!" He was clapping before the performance even started.

Squidward took a deep breath.

A pause.

He then began to play the song. Off-tune notes came out of the clarinet.

Patrick was lulled to sleep by the song, he snored as Squidward continued to play.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was sitting on his bed.

"What am I worried about? I got plenty of friends! I can name three right off the bat!" He held out three fingers. "Uhh..." The sponge thought for a bit. He then took out a marker and drew makeshift faces on the yellow fingers. SpongeBob made an awkward smile. "The gang's all here..."

SpongeBob couldn't help it, he was dreadfully lonely.

"Ohhh!" His eyes became filled with tears and he began to cry. What made it even worse was that no one was going to hear his sobs.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREAK**

"Rgh!" Squidward was dragging the sleeping body of Patrick out of his tiki. It was an extremely difficult task due to Patrick's weight. He had to strain all the muscles in his body just to move the sea star by an inch.

CRACK

His back could no longer keep up with the heavy physical demand.

"My back! I threw out my back!" Squidward screamed in agony.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob had wiped his tears and was looking through the window, he watched the event unfold. "Oh, boy, now's my chance!" Just like Patrick, he was going to play hero to gain a new friend.

CREAK

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened the window. He then hopped and carefully stood on the windowsill. "Don't worry, Squidward! I'm coming!"

"No, no, no, get away from me!" Squidward let go of Patrick and tried to limp quickly back to his tiki.

"Hang on! I'll save you!" SpongeBob jumped from the windowsill.

Plop!

He landed on the ground. A small plume of sand rose up.

"No, no! Get away from me! No, no!" Squidward reached his hand for the knob as he got closer and closer to the front door.

"Hold on!" SpongeBob leaned his head forward and sprinted towards Squidward.

"No, no! Get away!" Squidward was shaking his head and a held a hand out as a desperate signal for SpongeBob to stop.

Time slowed.

Squidward's other hand touched the doorknob.

SpongeBob was only an inch away from Squidward. He aimed his head directly at the broken part of Squidward's back.

Time resumed.

SLAM

C-CRACK

SpongeBob made a mighty headbutt on Squidward's broken back.

"Oh! I'm ruined! I'm... I'm... I'm..." Squidward flinched, he was expecting the worst.

A pause.

The octopus noticed that he was no longer in pain. "I-I feel great! Thanks, SpongeBob! You're a real friend!" Squidward was appreciative of SpongeBob's heroic act, these nice things aren't seen everyday.

SpongeBob made a wide smile. "Friiieeennd..." His mission was complete.

"N-no, no, no, I didn't mean that, no no." Squidward thought that SpongeBob took it to an entirely different meaning.

"Don't worry, Squiddy old-pal. That's what friends are for." SpongeBob patted Squidward on the back. "So dumb Patrick fell asleep on ya, huh?" He looked down at the sleeping Patrick.

"Yeah. I was playing a song with my clarinet when he did that." Squidward opened the front door.

CREEEAK

SpongeBob went inside the tiki.

SLAM

Squidward shut the door.

S-S-S-S-S

The two went upstairs and entered the music room.

"A real friend would perform for you!" SpongeBob was searching for an instrument.

"You play?" Squidward asked.

"Are you kidding? I've been playing bassinet for years!" SpongeBob found the instrument he was looking for and took it off the wall, it was obviously a bassinet. "Give me an A, buddy!" He put the bow slightly above the strings of the instrument, the sponge signaled for Squidward to start the song.

Squidward grabbed his clarinet and played a note.

"Squidward is my best friend in the world." SpongeBob began to sing. A grating sound was heard as the sponge made the bow go across the surface of the strings.

Squidward winced and covered his ears.

"Squidward is my best friend in the sea..." SpongeBob made the bow slide across the strings in a futile attempt at making a note. The bow accidentally flew off the bassinet and flipped in the air.

It eventually succumbed to gravity and stabbed across a self-portrait of Squidward.

Squidward lost his temper at the sight of his ruined self-portrait. He stomped to the painting and pulled the bow out of the hole in the canvas. The octopus then snapped the bow in half with his knee in anger.

"Squidward..." SpongeBob sang as he played the bassinet with his fingers, the instrument began to make notes.

CRREAK

One of the windows opened.

"Likes Patrick more than SpongeBob." Patrick sang and interrupted the song. He had awoken from his slumber and heard the music coming from the tiki, he decided that now would be a good time to get revenge on SpongeBob for stealing his new friend. The sea star climbed all the way up the tiki just to open the window.

**SLAM!**

SpongeBob slammed the window shut.

"Woah!" Patrick's hands slipped off the windowsill and he fell to the ground.

A large plume of sand could be seen from above.

SpongeBob's emotions took control of his actions. "And Patrick is a dirty, stinky, rotten friend stealer!"

**SMACK**

**SLAM**

**BAM**

SpongeBob repeatedly pounded the bassinet to the floor. The instrument eventually broke into several pieces.

A pause.

All of SpongeBob's anger had been vented. The sponge realized that he had just made a foolish mistake. "Umm, I can fix this." He smiled nervously.

"**Get out!**" Squidward's face became red and steam came out of his ears. He pointed towards the stairs so SpongeBob could leave.

"So, uhh, I'll see you after work." SpongeBob walked down the stairs and headed for the front door.

"Yech! That was disgusting! I feel like I need to scrub myself." Squidward went downstairs and walked towards the bathroom. A soothing bath would make him relax and forget about what happened to his self-portrait.

CRRREAK

SLAM

He entered the bathroom.

Squidward walked to the bathtub and opened the curtain. The curtain revealed a tub full of water and a certain starfish sitting inside of it.

"Hey, buddy. I warmed it up for ya." Patrick took out a brush and soap. He was spying on Squidward and overheard what he said, the sea star then managed to get inside the bathroom by opening a window which was behind him.

Chills ran down Squidward's spine. SpongeBob and Patrick's behavior was becoming very disturbing and creepy. "Patrick! Get out! And put some clothes on!" Squidward pointed at the door.

CRREAK

A nosy SpongeBob opened the door and walked into the room. "What's the matter, Squidward, old buddy?" He saw Patrick in the bathtub. "Oh, ho-ho, so this is what I find, huh? My best friend and my ex-best friend and... " SpongeBob walked up to the tub and grabbed the bath toys that were floating on the water. "...rubber bath toys!"

"Oh, yeah?! Well, he was MY friend first!" Patrick swam across the tub and glared at SpongeBob face-to-face.

"You're just a backbiting, backstabbing silly blob of-" SpongeBob shook his fist.

"This can't be happening to me!" Squidward ran away from the bathroom. He was overwhelmed from the amount that his act of revenge had backfired.

"Buddy?!" SpongeBob looked around the bathroom, Squidward was missing.

"Squidward?!" Patrick submerged his pants in the water and put them on underwater.

"Where'd ya go, friend?" SpongeBob exited the bathroom.

"Where are ya, ol buddy?" Patrick got out of the tub and followed.

The two tried to find the person that would fill in the empty holes of their former friendship.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was sitting behind his tiki, he was in the backyard. "Oh, this is nuts! I need a plan to get those two back together and out of my hair!" He began to ponder on ways to make SpongeBob and Patrick friends again.

S-S-S-S-S

CRREEEAK

SLAM

SpongeBob and Patrick had left the premises, they had explored the entire building.

"Looks like Squid left for an errand or something." SpongeBob walked back to his pineapple.

"Oh well." Patrick shrugged his shoulders.

C-CRRREAK

S-SLAM

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Someone knocked on Patrick's rock.

CRREEAK

Patrick opened the rock.

Squidward went inside.

SLAM

The rock closed.

Squidward was wearing a smile. "Hey, Patrick. Wanna come to my place for a party?"

"Sure thing, buddy." Patrick stood up from his couch, he smiled.

CRRREEAK

SLAM

The two exited the rock.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was reading a magazine in his living room. Gary was currently eating his breakfast in the kitchen.

The doorbell rang.

SpongeBob stopped reading, closed the magazine, and stood up.

An envelope was slipped under the door.

SpongeBob walked to the envelope, picked it up, and ripped it open. He read the contents of a letter that was inside the envelope. "Ooh, from Squidward. A dinner party? I'd love to!" SpongeBob put the letter away.

**CRRREAK**

**SLAM**

He opened the door and exited his pineapple. SpongeBob walked to Squidward's tiki.

KNOCK KNOCK

The sponge knocked on the front door.

CRREAK

Squidward opened the door.

"Did you miss me?" SpongeBob was smirking.

"Come on in! You look stunning." Squidward pretended to act friendly, he was trying to act as sincere as possible.

SLAM

The octopus closed the door.

"I'd much rather dine with you than that lousy-" *gasps* SpongeBob noticed that Patrick was sitting on a sofa inside the living room. "Say, what gives? I'm not sitting near that maniac!"

"Me neither! This was a setup!" Patrick stood up and began to stomp towards the front door.

"I thought you two were my best friends." Squidward smirked at what he believed to be a clever comment.

SpongeBob and Patrick suddenly stood before Squidward. "I am your best friend!" They spoke simulateosuly.

"Hold on a second." Squidward walked to his kitchen and opened the fridge.

SpongeBob and Patrick glared at each other as they waited for Squidward. Their presence gave off an air of fierce rivalry for Squidward's attention.

Squidward came back from the kitchen with a few glass cups and a bottle of soda. "Well, how about some soda, guys?" He gave a glass cup to SpongeBob and Patrick.

"Yes, please!" SpongeBob held his cup out.

Squidward poured some soda into SpongeBob's glass.

"Thanks, friend." SpongeBob drank the soda. The flavor was a strange mix of Sprite and Coca-cola. The sponge liked the taste and desired for more.

"How about some for your best friend?" Patrick held his cup out.

SpongeBob put his cup above Patrick's cup right as the soda began to pour from the bottle. "Thanks, best friend." The sponge quickly drank from his glass. He became addicted to the soda and wanted to selfishly hog the beverage.

"Can I have some now, buddy?" Patrick was quickly losing his patience.

"Wait, I need some more!" SpongeBob held his glass out for the third time, he could no longer control his urges.

Squidward poured more soda into SpongeBob's cup. The octopus definitely noticed SpongeBob's particular liking for the beverage.

"I still didn't get any!" Patrick lost his temper and became annoyed at SpongeBob's behavior.

SpongeBob poured a generous amount of his soda into Patrick's cup, he didn't want any competition from the sea star. "There ya go. More please!"

Patrick drank from his cup. He also liked the flavor and realized why SpongeBob was hogging the soda.

Squidward poured an even larger amount of soda into SpongeBob's cup, it nearly filled the entire glass.

SpongeBob drank all the soda in his cup in one gulp.

"Squidward!" Patrick held his glass out, he became addicted to the soda as well.

"Squidward!" SpongeBob held his cup out, he became jittery from the sugar in the soda.

The octopus quickly poured the soda into the two former friends' cups

SpongeBob and Patrick simulateosuly drank the soda in one gulp, their thirst still wasn't quenched.

"Squidward!" Patrick nearly shoved his cup towards Squidward. Soda was quickly poured into his glass. "SQUIDWARD!" The sea star didn't notice that his cup was already full.

"Patrick! Your glass is full!" Squidward became annoyed.

"Oh yeah." Patrick looked at his cup and noticed the soda inside of it. He then drank the soda.

"Squidward!" SpongeBob held his glass out and drank the poured soda.

"Hey, Squidward!" Patrick held his glass out and drank the poured soda.

"Squidward!" SpongeBob held his glass out and drank the poured soda.

"Hey, Squidward!" Patrick held his glass out and drank the poured soda.

They continuously demanded and drank the soda that Squidward was serving for the next minute. The octopus had to face the challenge of pouring the soda as quickly as he could.

The bottle eventually became empty.

"Squidward!" SpongeBob and Patrick held their glasses out and simultaneously demanded for more soda.

"Sorry, boys, I'm all out of pop. I'm gonna go get some more." Squidward threw the empty soda bottle to a trash can. "Why don't you just stay here and chat?"

**CRRREAK**

**SLAM**

Squidward opened the front door and left his tiki.

S-S-S-S-S

The octopus walked towards the Barg'N-Mart so he could buy more soda. Squidward was taken by surprise when his plan went down an unexpected path, it was very similar to the outcome of his act of revenge.

*groans* "Can this day get any worse?" Squidward was in a sour mood. What could have possibly been one of the best days of his life turned out to be just a normal day living with SpongeBob and Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob looked down and noticed that he was ridiculously obese from drinking all that soda. The sea star was also suffering from the same condition. The two sat down at a table with their two cups, they waited for Squidward to come back with the soda.

"I should've drank all the soda first." Patrick was very impatient, his craving for the beverage became just as powerful as SpongeBob's.

"Shut up!" SpongeBob had a severe case of withdrawal from the soda. Patrick's nearby presence only made things worse and those factors combined made him lose his temper.

"Hmph." Patrick turned his eye contact away from SpongeBob and crossed his arms.

SpongeBob did the same.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward walked out of the Barg'N-Mart with a bottle of soda in his hand. He headed for his tiki.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob suddenly hiccuped and a bubble came out of his mouth. It flew to the ceiling and **POP**ped. A burp was heard as the bubble vanished into thin air.

Patrick attempted to suppress a smirk, he began to chuckle.

SpongeBob felt slightly embarrassed and continued to look away from Patrick.

The sea star started to giggle.

SpongeBob gave in and smirked. It soon led to giggling.

The sponge and sea star laughed. Bubbles flew from their mouths as they remained open. The bubbles took all the soda out of their stomachs and the two were no longer obese. The bubbles made them float in the air.

**P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-POP**

The bubbles popped. Numerous burping sounds were heard as a result.

P-plop!

SpongeBob and Patrick landed on the floor. The living room was a mess since several pieces of furniture were displaced by the popping of the bubbles.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward walked to his tiki.

**CRRRREAK**

He opened the door and went inside. The octopus saw his living room in disarray and groaned. "What a surprise... I invited them in, and I left them alone. Well, Squidward, what have we learned today?" Squidward pondered for a few seconds. 'Maybe I should tell them what actually happened so they can go away.'

Gary slithered into the room and meowed.

"What's that, Gary?" SpongeBob stood up and walked to the snail.

"Meow." Gary meowed.

"Oh. You' want more food?" SpongeBob smiled and walked towards the front door.

Squidward was blocking the way. "SpongeBob, Patrick, I have something to say."

Patrick and SpongeBob gathered before Squidward.

"The bubbles that had mean comments about you guys were sent to you two by me, it was all a prank." Squidward confessed, he had enough of SpongeBob and Patrick's behavior.

SpongeBob and Patrick looked at each other and smiled.

"Guess what, Squidward?" SpongeBob hugged Patrick.

"Me and SpongeBob are friends again!" Patrick hugged back.

"Great, now go be friends somewhere else." Squidward moved out of the way and pointed at the door.

"Don't you want us to help you clean this up a little?" SpongeBob showed some concern for Squidward.

"NO! **OUT**!" Squidward yelled.

SpongeBob looked at his watch. It was 7:33 AM. "I'm gonna have to wait a while before I go to work." He whispered to himself.

The two best friends exited the tiki.

Gary was still in the living room, he was making a vicious glare at Squidward. "Meeeoooow." The snail meowed as a form of saying 'shame on you' on Squidward for pulling off that prank on SpongeBob and Patrick. The snail then slithered out of the tiki.

Squidward gulped.


	9. Boating School

**Chapter 9: Boating School**

* * *

Three days later...

It was Sunday morning.

S-S-S-S-S

The hour and minute hands of the foghorn's clock shifted. It became 7:00 AM.

**HOOOOOONNNNNNK**

The alarm of the foghorn went off.

SpongeBob opened his eyes, the alarm had awakened him. He stretched an arm out.

CLICK

The alarm was turned off.

Gary awoke from his slumber, he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"This is it, Gary!" SpongeBob put on his shoes and got off his bed. The sponge walked to a calendar that was hanging on the wall. He had recently bought that calendar from Barg'N-Mart.

"Meow." Gary droned as a reply.

"The big boating exam is today! I've never felt so capable!" SpongeBob pointed at a certain day on the calendar which was February 10th. The day was circled and written with the words 'boating exam today!' in red marker. On certain days of the month, SpongeBob goes to Boating School. The school teaches how to drive the underwater equivalents of automobiles which are called boatmobiles. SpongeBob found it to be extremely difficult to drive a boatmobile but nonetheless he felt confident in his driving ability that day.

**CRRRREAK**

SpongeBob opened a door and quickly ran downstairs, he was full of energy due to a good night's sleep and his optimism. Gary slithered behind him.

**SLAM**

The door was closed.

S-S-S-S-S

CRRREAK

SpongeBob opened a door and entered the garage. He searched through the neatly organized piles of junk for a large object. The sponge had bought some things for his home for the last few days and found the time to organize the garage. His eyes eventually locked on to a unicycle that was leaning on a brand new reef blower.

He picked it up and ran out of the garage.

**SLAM**

The door was shut.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob opened the front door and exited his pineapple. He then jumped and sat on the unicycle. The sponge then pedaled towards his destination.

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

SpongeBob was yelling his signature chant.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was playing with his clarinet, he managed to get through most of the song before he heard SpongeBob's chant.

The sponge's yelling surprised Squidward and it made him stop playing. The octopus groaned and looked out from one of the windows.

SpongeBob was riding a unicycle. "Squidward! Squidward!" He was calling for Squidward's attention.

"What?" Squidward wasn't amused.

"I'm ready, Squidward!" SpongeBob was expressing his tremendous enthusiasm through speech.

"Ready to move?" Squidward made a scornful remark.

"No, I'm ready to pass my boating test." SpongeBob pedaled with his unicycle towards the horizon.

Squidward laughed by honking his nose. "Like that'll ever happen." He was doubtful of SpongeBob's claim.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

"I'M READY!"

SpongeBob continued his chant as he rode on the unicycle.

"I'm ready-eady-eady-eady-eady-eady-eady-eady-ready." SpongeBob stopped pedaling. The unicycle slowed down near a dumpster. The sponge jumped off and landed on the ground. "Well, pal, I won't be needing you anymore."

The unicycle leaned on the dumpster and SpongeBob left it as it is.

"I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Oh, yeah! I'm ready!" SpongeBob resumed his chanting as he walked towards the campus of the school. There was a gate with a sign above it that said 'Mrs. Puff's Boating School'. The campus consisted of a large driving course, a boardwalk that served as a parking lot for boats and also led to the main building which was simply a yellow house with a green roof; and a lighthouse which stood next to the main building. A few boats were driving around the course as SpongeBob entered the campus and walked across the boardwalk.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Yes! Hey, I just got my license!" A familiar green fish exited the main building and stopped before SpongeBob, the two were in the same class. He showed his new driver's license to SpongeBob.

"Hey Gus, I'm getting mine next!" SpongeBob snapped his fingers.

"Heh, I doubt it!" Gus walked away, he was as doubtful as Squidward.

"Ok, see you on the road." SpongeBob waved at Gus. "I'm ready! Here I come, Mrs. Puff! I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready." SpongeBob called out to his teacher and ran towards the main building.

S-S-S-S-S

A pufferfish in a hallway was looking out from a window that was next to the front door, she saw SpongeBob running closer and closer into view.

*sighs* "I'm not ready." She shook her head, she wasn't very thrilled to see SpongeBob's presence. The pufferfish opened the front door.

SpongeBob walked through the doorway and entered the hallway. "Hi, Mrs. Puff! Today is the day I'm going to pass my boating exam!" He was jumping up and down in excitement.

Mrs. Puff took out a pen and a clipboard. "We'll see about that, SpongeBob. First we must-"

"First I must pass the oral exam. I am confident in my abilities to successfully succeed." This wasn't the first time that SpongeBob had taken the test, he had failed many times.

"I know. Ok, number one. What is the front of the boat?" Mrs. Puff asked a question.

"The bow." SpongeBob promptly answered.

Mrs. Puff wrote down SpongeBob's answer. "What is the back?"

"Stern." SpongeBob already knew the answers to all of the questions.

Mrs. Puff wrote down the answer. "Right is-"

"Starboard. Port. Skipper. Deck. Cabin. Galley. Keel. 1924." SpongeBob answered the remaining questions, he had always passed that portion of the exam.

Mrs. Puff wrote down all of the spoken answers. "You've passed the oral test. What a surprise." She was being sarcastic. "Now it's time to once again take the driving portion of the exam."

SpongeBob's heartbeat quickened, he never passed the boating test because he had always failed on the driving portion. The sponge was wracked with anxiety as he thought of the several embarrassing ways he could fail that portion of the test. He sweatdropped.

CRRREAK

Mrs. Puff opened the door and walked outside. SpongeBob followed her.

SLAM

The door was closed.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Mrs. Puff halted and stood before a typical boatmobile.

"Ok, SpongeBob, get in the boat." Mrs. Puff folded her arms, she knew exactly what was going to happen.

SpongeBob became even more nervous. "Oh, in this boat right here?" He looked at his watch. "Is it time already?" His attempts were futile, SpongeBob couldn't shake off his anxiety.

A pause.

"Get in the boat, SpongeBob." Mrs. Puff still had some patience for the yellow square even though she had taught him for a long time.

"Oh yeah, absolutely." SpongeBob came back to his senses and sat inside the boat.

"All you have to do is get on the track." Mrs. Puff sat next to him.

SpongeBob looked at the road that was ahead of him. His anxiety made the track look ten-times longer than it actually was. The sponge's eyes widened and he gulped.

"Ok, SpongeBob, what's the first thing you do?" Mrs. Puff continued to administer the test as usual.

"1924?" SpongeBob was losing his mind as his fear of failing the test consumed him.

"No, no. First thing is to start the boat." Mrs. Puff turned the key that was already in the keyhole of the boat to one side. The engine turned on and vibrated.

SpongeBob's body shook violently in fright.

"SpongeBob? SpongeBob? Relax, it's only the boat." Mrs. Puff put her hand on SpongeBob's shoulder.

"The boat?" SpongeBob nearly forgot what he was doing.

"Ok, now what do you do next?" Mrs. Puff was looking at her checklist.

"Floor it?" SpongeBob was sweating in anxiety.

"Yes.." Mrs. Puff suddenly gasped. "No, no! Don't floor it!."

"Floor it?" The road ahead of the boat was heavily intimidating SpongeBob.

"No, no, don't, don't floor it!" Mrs. Puff was frantically shaking her head.

"Ok, floor it." SpongeBob's intense fear had drowned out his hearing and his instincts took over. He pushed the accelerator of the boatmobile down with his foot.

**VROOOOOOOMMMMM**

The boatmobile drove backwards at a rapid speed. It was heading straight for the lighthouse.

**CRRRAASSSH**

The vehicle drove a hole through the lighthouse.

Mrs. Puff increased to a large size and became round, it was normal behavior for her species when they receive trauma. "Oh, SpongeBob, why?" She spoke in a deep voice due to her size.

"Can I have a second chance?" SpongeBob bit his lip.

*sighs* "Yes." Mrs. Puff was in a sour mood.

SpongeBob could see Gus dialing 9-1-1 on his phone from afar.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked home with his head low, he was majorly disappointed.

Patrick saw him. "What happened?" He showed concern for SpongeBob's well-being.

"I failed my boating test." SpongeBob spoke quietly.

"Oh." Patrick became silent and continued to watch SpongeBob.

CRREEAK

SLAM

SpongeBob entered his pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob laid down on his sofa in the living room.

"Meow." Gary slithered towards him.

"I don't know why, Gary. I don't know. I'm tired of failing that boating test. I've already taken it nine times." SpongeBob felt frustrated after he reflected on his failure.

"Meow."

"Ok, ten." SpongeBob stood up and walked upstairs to the bedroom, he wanted to take a nap so he can get his recent failure off his mind.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick was in his rock. He walked to the sand-phone and picked it up. The sea star dialed a number and put it near his ear.

S-S-S-S-S

**RING RING RING RING**

The shell-phone rang.

Gary slithered over to the shell-phone and picked it up. "Meow?"

S-S-S-S-S

"Gary?" Patrick didn't expect the snail to pick up on the other line.

S-S-S-S-S

"Meow." Gary spoke into the phone.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick looked at his shell-phone and thought of the countless times that SpongeBob had failed his boating test, he contemplated for several seconds.

A pause.

A light bulb lit up in Patrick's head, his intelligence had suddenly increased. The sea star smiled.

"Hold up, Gary. I'll he right there." Patrick put the phone down.

CRRREAK

SLAM

Patrick exited his rock.

S-S-S-S-S

He walked to SpongeBob's pineapple.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Patrick knocked on the front door of the pineapple. He heard a meow coming from inside.

**CRRRREAK**

**SLAM**

He entered the pineapple and was standing inside the living room. Patrick looked at Gary. "Do you have any walkie-talkies?"

"Meow." Gary slithered out of the living room.

Patrick followed him.

S-S-S-S-S

As expected, the two entered the garage.

Gary dug into a pile of junk and came back with two walkie-talkies being held in his mouth, you can find almost anything in that room.

"Thanks." Patrick picked up the walkie-talkies.

The two exited the room.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick walked up the stairs.

CRREAK

He gently opened the door and tip-toed into the bedroom. SpongeBob was napping while wearing his underwear. Patrick put a walkie-talkie near SpongeBob's face as he rested on the bed. The starfish then picked up the squarepants that SpongeBob left on the floor.

CRRREAK

The sea star opened the door to the library and went down the slide. He then struggled to put on the squarepants but he eventually managed to barely fit them. Patrick his behind a large chair and spoke into the walkie-talkie.

S-S-S-S-S

"SpongeBob, this is star ranger. Over." Patrick's voice came out of the walkie-talkie.

SpongeBob woke up and saw the walkie-talkie in front of him. "What is it, Patrick?" He had heard his friend's voice while napping.

"I got a surprise for you." Patrick was giggling while speaking into the walkie-talkie.

"Oh, Patrick. I'm not in the mood." SpongeBob wanted to resume his nap.

"Get out of bed." Patrick spoke a command.

SpongeBob got off his bed and stood up. "Okay, now what, Patrick?" He picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Go to your library for a surprise."

SpongeBob slipped through an already ajar door and slid down the slide. He was inside the library. "Okay, I'm at the library."

"Listen carefully. What's pink and square at the same time?" Patrick attempted to make a riddle.

"I don't know, Patrick." SpongeBob didn't want to play games. He scanned the room and noticed a pink forehead behind the large chair. The yellow square walked to the chair and looked at who was behind the seat.

Patrick was wearing SpongeBob's squarepants; he looked ridiculous. "Patrick SquarePants!"

"Pat don't do that." SpongeBob sat on the chair. "I've got too much to worry about."

"What's the problem?" Patrick stood in front of SpongeBob.

"I can't pass my boating exam. I've taken it nine-" SpongeBob was being serious.

"Meow." Gary slithered into the room.

"Uhh, ten times. I know all the answers until I get behind the wheel. I just need something to help me think straight." SpongeBob was explaining his problem.

Patrick took off the squarepants. "Thinking straight is what I do. You drive and I'll do all the thinking for you." He took SpongeBob's walkie-talkie.

"How are we going to do that?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

Patrick shoved the walkie-talkie into one of SpongeBob's holes. An antenna sticked out of SpongeBob's head.

"Come in, SpongeBob. Hello? Hello?" Patrick spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"Hey! I can hear you in my head! This is great! While I'm taking the test, you can give me all the answers." SpongeBob smiled and became hopeful, he figured out Patrick's plan. He looked up and noticed the antenna sticking out of his head. "Wait a minute, Patrick. Won't I look silly with this antenna coming out of my head?"

A lightbulb lit up in Patrick's head. "Hold on a sec." He ran to the dark hallway.

A pause as SpongeBob waited.

Patrick came back with a tall cowboy hat in his hand, he found it by searching through the closet in the living room. The sea star put the hat on SpongeBob's head, it concealed the antenna.

"Oh. I see." SpongeBob nodded. "What now?"

"Follow me." Patrick walked to the dark hallway.

SpongeBob hesitantly followed.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were in the kitchen.

Patrick opened the fridge and took out an apple. "You'll give this to Mrs. Puff." He gave the apple to SpongeBob.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob nodded.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick waited in front of the closed door of the closet, he was in the living room.

CRRREAK

SpongeBob opened the door and came out of the closet. He was wearing a sily-looking underwear that had the word 'lucky' on it. "Is this what you wanted, Patrick?"

Patrick made a thumbs-up.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked across the boardwalk of the boating school campus. He then sat inside a parked boat. The sponge expressed confidence.

Patrick was standing behind the fence of the campus and was watching SpongeBob.

"Pat to Sponge, Pat to Sponge, testing, testing." SpongeBob heard Patrick's electronic voice from his head. "Testing, testing, testing, testing, testing, TESTING!, TESTING! TEST! DO YOU READ?!" Patrick went overboard

"Sponge to Pat, I read you loud and clear, over. " SpongeBob assured Patrick.

"Got your apple ready?" Patrick spoke through the walkie-talkie.

SpongeBob took the apple out of his pocket and showed it.

Patrick saw the apple. "Lucky undergarments?"

SpongeBob showed his underwear.

"Bingo! Underwear, apple, and me. You're ready to get that license." Patrick made a thumbs-up and spoke into the walkie-talkie.

SpongeBob and Patrick heard the sound of an ambulance.

"Uh-oh, here comes Mrs. Puff! Act natural." Patrick was giving catious advice.

SpongeBob jumped out of the boat and landed on the ground on all-fours. He bit and chewed on some grass. "Moo." The sponge took Patrick's advice word-for-word.

"No, no, get in the boat!" Patrick shook his head.

SpongeBob spit out the grass and jumped back into the boat.

The ambulance stopped in front of the gate of the boating school campus. The doors opened and Mrs. Puff walked out of the vehicle. The doors closed and the ambulance drove off to the horizon.

She walked into the campus and saw SpongeBob sitting in one of the boatmobiles. Mrs. Puff took a deep breath and prepared for the worst-case scenario. She walked to the boat and sat next to SpongeBob.

"Giver her the apple." Patrick commanded through the walkie-talkie.

"Here you go, ma'am." SpongeBob gave Mrs. Puff the apple.

Mrs. Puff threw the apple in the air and swallowed it in one gulp. "Let's get this over with." She took another deep breath. "What's the first thing you do?" Mrs. Puff immediately put her arms over her head as she waited for SpongeBob to make another accident.

"Uhh..." SpongeBob was unsure about what to do.

"Start the boat." Patrick's electronic voice was heard.

SpongeBob turned the key in the keyhole and started the boat. The engine of the boat vibrated.

Mrs. Puff shook violently in fright, she was caught by surprise.

"Mrs. Puff! Mrs. Puff!" SpongeBob grabbed Mrs. Puff's shoulder.

"Whoa-ho! Huh? What?" Mrs. Puff was too frightened to know what was going on.

"It's ok, it's only the boat." SpongeBob tried to calm her down.

"The boat? You started the boat?" Mrs. Puff was in disbelief.

"I-I think so." SpongeBob tried to remain confident in his speech and expression.

"Oh. Well... what's the second thing you do?" Mrs. Puff carried on with the exam.

"1924?" SpongeBob wasn't thinking for a second.

"No, no, put it in drive." Patrick spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"Put it in drive?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mrs. Puff was nodding, she was thrilled that SpongeBob was saying the correct answers. This may be the day that SpongeBob gets his license and she would no longer have to teach him.

SpongeBob pushed the lever in the boatmobile down to 'DRIVE'.

"Then what?" Mrs. Puff continued to ask questions.

"Floor it?" SpongeBob lifted his leg up and prepared to slam down on the accelerator.

"NO!" Mrs. Puff started to panic.

SpongeBob's leg flew down, his foot was about to hit the accelerator.

"Freeze, mister!" Patrick timed his command just right. SpongeBob's foot stopped an inch above the accelerator. "Big toe." Patrick spoke another command with careful consideration.

SpongeBob pushed his big toe and the shoe gently landed on the accelerator. The boatmobile began to drive across the road smoothly.

"Oh gracious. Oh gracious! Oh-oh. Ha-ha! Ah, we haven't crashed yet." Mrs. Puff was relieved that no accident had occurred.

"Ok, you're coming to your first turn." Patrick was watching the vehicle closely and spoke into the walkie-talkie. The boatmobile was heading towards a left curve in the road with a large brick wall that had the word 'WALL' painted on it with yellow paint.

"Oh no, the first turn. Please, tell me you know what to do at the first turn." Mrs. Puff bit her lip.

"Left." Patrick commanded.

SpongeBob steered the vehicle to the left.

"Oh!" Mrs. Puff's eyes widened.

"Right." Patrick commanded.

SpongeBob steered the vehicle to the right, he successfully drove through the curve.

"Oh! Oh my, this is splendid, SpongeBob. You're doing fine." Mrs. Puff marveled at SpongeBob's decent driving skills.

The vehicle was heading towards an intersection with a stop sign.

"Stop." Patrick's electronic voice was heard.

SpongeBob made the vehicle stop.

"Look both ways." Patrick continued to give commands.

SpongeBob looked at both sides of the street.

"Go." Patrick gave the green light.

SpongeBob continued to drive the boatmobile.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The vehicle was driving straight towards the finish line.

"Splendid! Wonderful!" Mrs. Puff was clapping. "There's the finish line. It's unbelievable. You've shown the most spectacular improvement of any student I've ever seen. What's your secret? A little radio in your head?" She attempted to make a joke.

SpongeBob, Mrs. Puff, and Patrick laughed.

"Oh, and under that hat is some kind of, uhh, antenna?" Mrs. Puff continued to make jokes as the vehicle got closer to the finish line.

They continued to laugh.

"And some guy miles away from here is giving you all the answers?" Mrs. Puff couldn't help herself.

The three laughed for the third time.

"Oh, yes, but that would be cheating." Mrs. Puff became somewhat more serious.

SpongeBob's eyes widened, he frowned and his mouth became ajar. Guilt was gnawing at his heart. He was so desperate to get a driver's license that he would cheat on the exam just to obtain it. SpongeBob thought of the consequences of his actions, he imagined Bikini Bottom being in a state of chaos and destruction due to his poor driving skills. He realized the purpose of the exam, it was to see who had good driving skills and was ready to get a license.

He was not ready. The sponge would be going to jail very soon once he is allowed to drive.

"Cheating!" Patrick was laughing into the walkie-talkie.

"I'm cheating, Mrs. Puff." SpongeBob spoke solemnly.

"Yes, my star pupil?" Mrs. Puff couldn't hear SpongeBob over the sound of the boatmobile's engine.

"I think I'm cheating." SpongeBob spoke louder and his hands were shaking on the steering wheel.

"What's that, dear?" Mrs. Puff still didn't hear SpongeBob.

"I think I am cheating!" SpongeBob let go of the steering wheel and grabbed Mrs. Puff.

"You've... you've let go of the wheel." Mrs. Puff was nervously eyeing the steering wheel.

"I do have an antenna under my hat." SpongeBob took off his hat and showed the antenna sticking out of his head. "There is a guy giving me all the answers. It's all true!" Tears ran down SpongeBob's eyes. "I'M CHEATING! I'M CHEATING! I'M CHEATING!" He bawled out a confession, SpongeBob could no longer control his emotions.

S-S-S-S-S

"What?" Patrick's eyes bugged out and his face drained of color.

S-S-S-S-S

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Puff! I'm sorry!" SpongeBob was begging for Mrs. Puff's forgiveness, the guilt was overwhelming.

"The wheel, SpongeBob! The wheel!" Mrs. Puff desperately pointed at the steering wheel. The boatmobile was driving off-course and an accident was bound to happen.

"Cheating.. I'm a cheater! Cheater!" SpongeBob continued to wail like a child.

"No, no, no! Its quite alright! You can cheat!" Mrs. Puff was willing to do anything at this point to prevent another accident.

"No.. I'm cheating!" SpongeBob refused to grasp the wheel and steer the boatmobile.

"At least, SpongeBob-" Mrs. Puff couldn't finish what she was going to say.

"Cheating!" SpongeBob interrupted Mrs. Puff with his bawling.

"Cheat that way!" Mrs. Puff pointed at a finish line that was diminishing more and more as the boat drove further and further off-course.

"I'm a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" SpongeBob was oblivious to the dire situation.

"It's ok to cheat today!" Mrs. Puff tried to bring SpongeBob back to his senses.

"NO!" SpongeBob shook his head and continued to cry, he built a brick wall between him and Mrs. Puff. His teacher's attempts were futile.

"That way! Cheat that way!" Mrs. Puff was shaking SpongeBob and continued to point at the direction of the finish line.

"CHEATER!" SpongeBob couldn't bear to even touch the steering wheel.

Mrs. Puff looked ahead of the boatmobile. Her eyes bugged out as she saw a rapidly incoming lighthouse.

**CRRRRRAAAAAASSSSSSSSH**

The boat drove through the lighthouse and made a second hole.

Mrs. Puff became large and round once again. "Oh, SpongeBob, why?" She spoke in a deep voice.

"Mrs. Puff, I think I cheated." SpongeBob had calmed down.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

An ambulance was parked near the Boating School. Mrs. Puff was laid down on the stretcher.

"Uhh, I'm sorry for letting you down again, Mrs. Puff." SpongeBob apologized.

"It's ok, SpongeBob, you didn't mean it." Mrs. Puff wasn't in a very jolly mood.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Puff. I'll try harder next semester. By the way, is class cancelled for today?" SpongeBob knew that class doesn't end after the boating exams are finished.

"No, SpongeBob. I'll notify you when I'm ready to return to class. Okay, boys, take me away." Mrs. Puff felt that she had spoken enough. Some workers pushed Mrs. Puff into the ambulance and closed the doors. The siren blared and the vehicle drove off to the horizon.

SpongeBob walked away from the campus. 'Where's my bike?' He couldn't find his unicycle.

"Meow." Gary was dragging the unicycle towards SpongeBob. The snail had followed SpongeBob out of curiousity and witnessed the entire incident.

"Gary! My bike! You found it! This sponge is still mobile!" SpongeBob put Gary on top of his head and he jumped to the unicycle. "Alright, let's go surprise someone at the hospital!" He rode away to visit Mrs. Puff during her recovery.

"Wait for me, buddy!" Patrick ran after SpongeBob.

"Pat, you wanna come too?" SpongeBob looked behind and noticed Patrick.

"Yeah! But slow down a bit!" Patrick struggled to catch up with the bike.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob slowed down. Patrick was now running at an equal speed with the unicycle.

The two best friends and the snail vanished from the horizon.

* * *

**Beyond this point, the order of the chapters will no longer rely on the numerical order of the episodes that they were based on. It's extremely obvious by now that I'm trying to give the series more continuity than it originally had. Chapters for now on will be placed in a more chronological order to prevent potentially large plotholes. **


	10. Hall Monitor

**Chapter 10: Hall Monitor**

* * *

SpongeBob and a group of other students were patiently waiting in front of the gate of the boating school campus.

An ambulance drove to the campus and parked near the gate. The back doors opened and Mrs. Puff walked out. The doors then closed and the ambulance drove away towards the horizon.

"I thank all of you for your patience. Class shall now resume." Mrs. Puff walked across the boardwalk. The students followed her into the main building.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was sitting in a desk inside a classroom with other students. Some pupils were taking notes in their notebooks as Mrs. Puff wrote some things on the chalkboard, others were napping or daydreaming since they found the material being taught to be boring. The yellow sponge was playing with his pencil since he had finished taking notes early, he was skilled at studying and this was the reason why he does well on the oral portion of the boating exam and why he had good grades in high school.

Mrs. Puff eventually erased what she had written on the chalkboard. "Everyone, put down your books, because it's time to pick out the hall monitor of the day!" The boating school occasionally picks certain students to be hall monitors so that they can monitor (hence the name) the behavior of people who drive boats. This was implemented so students can learn from the bad habits of certain drivers and find ways to prevent accidents before they happen.

SpongeBob slammed the pencil to his desk. He couldn't contain his excitement as he anticipated for Mrs. Puff to call his name.

Mrs. Puff took out a piece of paper and quietly spoke the names on the list as she read them. "Let's see here. This weeks hall monitor will be Bart, Jimmy, no, no, Tina, Ralph, mmm..." Her eyes widened and she gasped as she read the last name on the list. "...SpongeBob."

SpongeBob suddenly moved his desk two rows foward, he thought that he heard Mrs. Puff saying his name.

Mrs. Puff sweatdropped. "It's Jimmy! Jimmy's the hall monitor."

"Mrs. Puff, I've done it already!" Jimmy didn't like being the hall monitor.

SpongeBob moved closer.

"Ohh... Phil?" Mrs. Puff started to become worried.

"No way, Mrs. Puff." Phil shook his head.

SpongeBob moved closer.

"Uhh, Tina, you're the hall monitor." Mrs. Puff was becoming desperate.

"Hey, I've done it three times this month already!" Tina was sleepy.

SpongeBob moved closer.

"B-B-Beth!" Mrs. Puff noticed that SpongeBob was moving towards her.

"She graduated!" A student called out on Mrs. Puff's mistake.

"Henry?" Mrs. Puff calling everyone except for SpongeBob on the list.

Henry was napping.

SpongeBob moved closer.

"Vera?"

Vera shook her head.

SpongeBob moved closer.

"Clayton?"

"Nah." Clayton wasn't interested.

SpongeBob moved closer. He poked Mrs. Puff with his desk.

*sighs* "Alright, I guess I have no choice." Mrs. Puff took a deep breath. "The hall monitor of the day is SpongeBob." This was the moment that SpongBob was waiting for.

SpongeBob jumped out of his seat. "Yahoo!" He landed on the floor and made a military salute. "Hall monitor SpongeBob reporting for duty, ma'am! I am ready to assume my position IN THE HALL! I will protect all that are weak IN THE HALL! All rules will be enforced IN THE HALL!"

"Okay! Just take the hat and belt." Mrs. Puff took out the hall monitor uniform and tried to hand it to SpongeBob.

"I can't except that yet, ma'am. First I have to make my speech." SpongeBob thought that becoming a hall monitor was a formal ceremony.

The entire class except for Mrs. Puff groaned.

"You can't make this easy, can you?" Mrs. Puff waited for SpongeBob's speech.

"Classmates! Who am I to deserve such a great honor? Why, I would be nothing without Mrs. Puff." SpongeBob began his speech.

"Give me a break." Mrs. Puff rolled her eyes.

The students were looking at the clock and weren't paying attention to SpongeBob, they were waiting for the bell to ring.

"And to my public, all I can say is I'm touched. And furthermore, I will carry out my duties... " SpongeBob continued his speech.

S-S-S-S-S

Several long and boring minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

"..,crime and punishment, punishment and crime IN THE HALL!" SpongeBob was deeply absorbed into his speech. He didn't notice that nearly all the students in the class were sleeping. Mrs. Puff was sitting in her desk and even she was getting bored.

S-S-S-S-S

Several more long and boring minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

"Which reminds me of an extremely long speech written by the greatest hall monitor of all time." SpongeBob took out a long piece of paper. ""Friends, students, juvenile delinquents, lend me your ears." He read it out loud. The sponge had prepared for his speech a long time ago.

Mrs. Puff was sleeping.

S-S-S-S-as

Even more long and boring minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob's speech had dragged on for 25 minutes in total.

"In conclusion, and without a moment to spare, I will put on this uniform..." SpongeBob took the uniform from Mrs. Puff's desk. "...and assume my duties as..." He put the blue hat and belt on. "...hall monitor! Wish me luck, Mrs. Puff!" He walked towards the exit of the classroom. "Oh, and I will be-" SpongeBob turned around to say something.

The bell rung while SpongeBob was talking.

Everybody in the classroom woke up. The students quickly got out of their seats and ran over SpongeBob. They ran down the hall and exited the building.

"SpongeBob, are you ok?" Mrs. Puff was looking down at a flattened SpongeBob.

"I overdid the speech, didn't I?" SpongeBob shakily stood up.

"I'm afraid so." Mrs. Puff was being honest.

"Well, see ya later." SpongeBob walked down the hallway and left the building.

"What are the consequences of what I've just done?" Mrs. Puff felt regretful for allowing SpongeBob to become hall monitor. She worried about what SpongeBob might do with that responsibility in his hands.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was walking down a sidewalk in downtown Bikini Bottom. Numerous pedestrians walked across the sidewalks of both sides of the street. It was the peak of rush hour and the streets were heavily congested with vehicles, the traffic was going extremely slow.

The sponge stopped as he reached an intersection. All four parts of the intersecting roads were filled to the brim with boatmobiles, the vehicles weren't moving because the side that they were heading for was too full. SpongeBob looked up and saw a broken traffic light, it was responsible for the heavy traffic in the downtown area.

"A broken traffic light! This looks like a job for the hall monitor!" SpongeBob was going to do an act of heroism. He took out a whistle that came with the uniform belt. The sponge walked to the middle of the intersection. SpongeBob then directed the traffic by blowing the whistle and using hand gestures.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

**SCREEEECH**

**CRASSSSH**

**CRAAASSSSH**

**CRRRAASSH**

**SCRRRRRREEEEEEEECH**

**CRRAAAAASSSSSH**

"My leg! My leeeeg!" Fred yelled in agony at his broken leg.

Several cars had crashed into each other, mounds and mounds of broken metal littered downtown Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob was the one that created all of that destruction. However, he was completely oblivious to this since he felt confident enough that he had done a good job and walked away to move on to something else.

"On patrol. I'm on patrol." He quietly sang to himself and strolled down the street. The sponge then noticed that there was a house with an open window. "Uh-oh, an open window. Who's to say my monitor duties couldn't be helpful anywhere?" He looked through the window.

S-S-S-S-S

There was a couple eating dinner in some sort of dining room.

"More seaweed medley, dear?" The wife asked.

S-S-S-S-S

"The fools. They've left themselves susceptible to danger. I must show them the error of their ways through example." SpongeBob dug into a trash can and found a ski mask. He put the ski mask on and jumped through the window.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob landed on the table. "I'm the open window maniac!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!" The couple ran out of their home in terror.

SpongeBob jumped out of the house through the window.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob landed on the sidewalk. "I hope you've learned a valuable lesson!" He took off the ski mask and put it back into the trash can. "On patrol. I'm on patrol. I'm on patrol." The sponge resumed his chanting and continued to stroll down the street.

S-S-S-S-S

A group of four thugs were hanging out at an alley. They looked heavily intimidating and were ready to fight if anyone asked for one.

"Man, have you seen the wrecked cars out there? Some barnacle head must've messed up big time." A thug was smoking a cigarette as he spoke.

"Good job, Sherlock." A thug with a metal baseball bat was being sarcastic.

"You gotta problem with that, Mike?" The thug with the cigarette made a vicious glare at Mike.

"Why do you have to state the most obvious stuff? You think we stupid or somethin'?" Mike tightened his grip on his baseball bat.

"You wanna fight?" The thug with the cigarette palmed his fist.

"Here we go again." The thug with the black jacket watched the conflict unfold.

Mike was giggling. "Jack, you're weak as hell and you can't fight for crap. A little kid down the street could beat you to a pulp."

The other two thugs couldn't help themselves and laughed.

"That's it. Let's go!" Jack walked towards Mike.

The thug with the baseball cap wasn't paying attention to the argument and was looking across the street. "Guys, look!" He pointed at someone on the other side of the street.

Jack was in the middle of making a punch when he stopped. The other three thugs looked across the street. A yellow sponge wearing a ski mask jumped out of a window. He made two people who lived in that house run and scream from their home in terror. The sponge took off the ski mask and revealed a hall monitor uniform. He put the ski mask into a trash can and walked across the sidewalk.

"Damn, that's one nice uniform. Those clothes have gotta be expensive. I bet he has a lot of money on him. He looks pretty weak so stealing his bucks is gonna be easy." Mike lifted his baseball bat and prepared to run across the street so he could mug the sponge.

"Oh snap! That was the guy who was guiding the cars at the intersection. He was the one that created all those car accidents." Jack recognized the sponge.

Someone abruptly walked into the alley. "How's it going, boys?" He was the leader of the thugs. The thug was the physically strongest of the group and a serial killer notorious for murdering his victims by strangulation.

"Yo, Strangler, should I mug that guy over there? He looks like an easy target." Mike was impatient.

The Strangler looked across the street and saw the sponge. "I've seen him before, he was guiding the traffic. Now's not a good time to mug him, Mike. He might be helping out the cops and I don't want to attract any attention. Let's stalk on him until it gets dark and if the police aren't around by that time, we'll mug him."

"Alright." Mike was disappointed.

The group of thugs stealthily walked through several alleys as they followed SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

A puddle of pink goo landed in front of SpongeBob.

*gasps* "Vandals! Another crime." He dipped a finger into the goo and tasted it. "Strawberry. I must act!" He acted more and more like a police officer than a hall monitor. Another puddle of pink goo landed on SpongeBob's head. The sponge shook the goo off and noticed that there was a metal fence. He looked up and saw Patrick licking some strawberry ice cream. "Patrick!"

An awkward pause. Patrick didn't hear SpongeBob's voice.

"Patrick!" SpongeBob yelled.

"My ice cream! It's alive!" Patrick thought that the ice cream was talking and threw it to the ground. A large amount of pink goo splattered over the sidewalk.

"Patrick! Down here!" SpongeBob commanded Patrick in a stern voice.

"Oh, SpongeBob, it's you." Patrick saw SpongeBob and smiled.

"Patrick! Come down here." SpongeBob folded his arms.

Patrick jumped off the fence and landed on top of SpongeBob. "SpongeBob? SpongeBob?" Patrick didn't know where SpongeBob went.

"I'm down here." SpongeBob's hand was poking Patrick.

Patrick stood up and SpongeBob was freed from Patrick's weight. "Hehe, you look funny! Hi, SpongeBob." Patrick saw SpongeBob's uniform and waved his hand.

"That's hall monitor to you!" SpongeBob kept his seriousness.

"Sorry, officer." Patrick tried to show some respect.

"Sorry's not good enough, Patrick. You've committed a crime, and I'm taking you in." SpongeBob was going too far, he was a police officer instead of a hall monitor by that point.

"What crime?" Patrick was completely oblivious to the 'crime' that he had 'committed'.

SpongeBob pointed at the ice cream that was laying on the ground.

"I'm a bad person!" Patrick began to cry. He didn't know that SpongeBob was giving him a draconian punishment.

"Plus, why're you hanging out here? This place isn't safe. Just look around." SpongeBob pointed at their surroundings. Dilapidated buildings with boarded up windows could be seen. Suspicious people were lurking in the shadows and were entering some of the buildings. The two friends even heard the faint sound of police sirens. SpongeBob was aware that he and Patrick were in the ghetto of Bikini Bottom.

"Extra! Extra! Maniac strikes Bikini Bottom! City paralyzed with fear!" A paperboy was giving out newspapers to several citizens. He walked towards SpongeBob and gave him a newspaper. "Take it, friends. Arm yourselves with knowledge." The paperboy ran off to elsewhere. "Extra! Extra! Maniac strikes Bikini Bottom!"

SpongeBob looked at the newspaper that was in his grasp. He read the headlines and saw two low-resolution images consisting of a shady person guiding traffic and someone wearing a ski mask that had exited from a window. SpongeBob was definitely the person in those pictures but the two friends couldn't recognize who that person was due to the fuzziness of the images. "Maniac. Bikini Bottom? Car wreck? Break-in? Who's better to bring this maniac to justice than me, the hall monitor! But I can't handle this case alone. Patrick, are you ready to give up your life of crime?" SpongeBob stopped reading the newspaper and looked at Patrick.

"I wanna be good!" Patrick was still crying, he felt guilty for his 'crime'.

"Hmmm... now you just need a symbol of authority." SpongeBob was considering what Patrick should wear.

Patrick looked at the ice cream cone that was on the ground. A light bulb lit up in his head. The sea star took the ice cream come and put it on his head.

"Perfect!" SpongeBob smiled. "It is our duty to catch this maniac and bring him to justice! But how to proceed? Listen, deputy, you're an ex-criminal. What would you do?" SpongeBob asked Patrick.

"Hmmm... I'd get an ice cream!" Patrick made a wide smile.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick walked out of an ice cream shop, they were eating the ice cream that they have bought.

"Okay, now what?" SpongeBob became serious again.

"Hmmm..." Patrick was deep in thought. "I'd get more ice cream."

S-S-S-S-S

Several more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The two walked out from the ice cream shop once again, they bought more ice cream.

"This isnt working. We've got to do something else. Something with walkie-talkies!" SpongeBob took out the walkie-talkie that was still stuck in his head. "Where's yours?"

"It's at my house." Patrick spoke.

"Let's go get it." SpongeBob hastily walked in the direction of Patrick's rock. Patrick quickly followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Ten minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob and Patrick exited the rock. Patrick had found his walkie-talkie.

"And now, duty calls!" SpongeBob walked away from the neighborhood and Patrick followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was sitting on the couch in the living room. He turned off the TV after watching the news. "Heh. So SpongeBob's a criminal now. Maybe this Sunday could get better." Squidward smiled at the thought of SpongeBob getting arrested.

S-S-S-S-S

The group of thugs were hiding behind a large piece of coral. They peeked from their hiding spot and looked at Squidward's tiki. They had followed SpongeBob and Patrick to their neighborhood.

"Alright, boys. Move out. Whoever's in that house must be a friend or neighbor of that little square dude." The Strangler spoke an order.

The five thugs walked across the street and went to the backyard of the tiki.

"Ricky, open the door." The Strangler pointed at the thug with the baseball cap.

Ricky walked to the door and opened it very slowly. He peeked through the slight opening and saw Squidward napping on his couch in the living room. "He's asleep."

"Perfect. We're gonna kidnap him and hold him for a ransom. That way, the sponge is gonna pay without getting mugged. It would be more quick." The Strangler explained his plan to his fellow thugs.

"What happens if the sponge snitches to the cops?" Mike asked a question.

"Oh. Good point. Then we'll just kidnap the neighbor and used that as a trap to lure the sponge. We'll mug the little square when we get the chance." The strangler changed his plan.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about." Mike made a wide smile.

"Marcus, you'll go in there and flip the couch so that guy doesn't escape. Then Mike will come in and hit the guy in the head with his bat." Marcus gave orders to Mike and the thug with the black jacket.

Marcus opened the door some more and quietly walked across the living room. He stood behind the couch and pushed it. The couch flipped over and Squidward fell to the floor.

"Huh?" Squidward woke up from his nap.

Mike ran into the living room and swinged his bat.

**BONK**

Mike hit Squidward in the head with his baseball bat.

Squidward became unconscious.

Jack and Ricky walked into the room. All four thugs picked up Squidward's body and carried him out of the tiki.

The Strangler took out a cell phone and dialed a number. "I'm gonna call an old friend of mine." He put the phone near his ear and waited.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were standing near the ice cream shop.

"Alright deputy, I'll go that way, you go some different way! Run em out!" SpongeBob walked away and headed for elsewhere.

Patrick heard a police siren. He looked over his shoulder and saw a police car stop nearby him.

"Afternoon, son." A police officer greeted Patrick.

"Hello, brothers." Patrick waved at the two officers in the car and pointed at his hat. He thought that SpongeBob was a police officer and that he had became one as well.

"Son, we're looking for the maniac." The officer didn't take Patrick seriously.

"Have you seen this man?" The officer took out a poster that had the words 'WANTED MANIAC' in red text and a drawing of SpongeBob.

"AAAAHHHH! It's the maniac! Take him away! Take him away!" Patrick was terrified. He didn't recognize SpongeBob in that poster.

"Calm down son. It's just a drawing, not the real thing. Now we're going to show you this picture again, and you tell us if you've seen this guy, understand?" The officer was patient.

"Yeah." Patrick nodded his head.

"Okay." The police officer nodded his head to the other officer.

The other officer showed the poster once again.

"AAAAHHHHH! Horrible!" Patrick was too scared of the drawing in the poster.

The other officer put the poster away. The two police officers looked at each other and smirked.

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AAHHHHHH!"

Patrick yelled every time the other officer showed the poster.

"Stay indoors, son." The officer was trying to suppress his giggling.

"And, uhh, take that cone off your head." The other officer was chuckling.

The police car drove away and the two officers were laughing. The siren was heard once again.

Patrick suddenly realized something as he watched the police car drive towards the horizon. He took out his walkie-talkie. "SpongeBob? Come in, SpongeBob. Answer." He spoke into the device.

"SpongeBob here, Patrick. Report." SpongeBob's electronic voice was heard.

"Since the maniac is really scary and all, how are you going to defend yourself? I'm pretty strong but you can't even lift a barbell. Have you ever though about that? What happens if he beats you up?" Patrick's intelligence had suddenly increased. He was worried about what might happen to SpongeBob once they meet the maniac.

"Hmmm... you're right. I haven't thought about that..." SpongeBob was deep in thought,

A pause.

A lightbulb lit up in his head.

"I know one person who could help me and she could teach you a little something as well." SpongeBob spoke to Patrick while standing in front of him. He had walked to the sea star while he spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Follow me." He smiled and walked away.

Patrick followed him.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick stood before the front door of the treedome.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

SpongeBob knocked on the front door.

A pause.

"_Who is it?_" Sandy's electronic voice was heard.

"It's us, SpongeBob and Patrick." SpongeBob replied.

"Alright, I'll let you in." Sandy spoke and the front door became unlocked.

**CRRREEEEAK**

SpongeBob and Patrick walked into the hallway of glass.

**SLAM**

Patrick closed the door. There were two glass bubbles laying on the floor. The two friends picked up the bubbles and put them on. The water in the hallway slowly drained until it became completely dry.

**CRRRREEEAK**

Sandy opened the door that was in front of SpongeBob and Patrick. "Howdy y'all. Uhhh..." She looked at SpongeBob's uniform and the ice cream cone that was on top of Patrick's head. "What's with the getups?" She was smirking and tried really hard not to giggle.

"For your information, I'm a hall monitor for the time being and Patrick had became one as well. I came here so you could teach us in the ways of karate so we can defend ourselves if we encounter any criminals." SpongeBob spoke solemnly as if he had a professional job.

"You're gonna fight crime? Very well. Let me go get my suit and we'll go outside. I'll teach ya." Sandy walked to the large oak tree so she could retrieve her suit.

"Hi, Sunny." Patrick smiled and waved at Sandy.

"Patrick, it's Sandy." SpongeBob corrected his friend.

Sandy laughed. "You're killing me Patrick."

Patrick's eyes bugged out. His face turned pale. "I-I'M THE MANIAC!" He ran in circles, he was terrified at the thought of getting arrested.

"No no, Patrick. Calm down. It's just a figure of speech." SpongeBob tried to ease Patrick's worries. He grasped the sea star's shoulder.

"Ohhhh. Phew." Patrick wiped sweat off his brow.

"Aw shucks, Patrick. You should be a comedian." Sandy resumed to walking to her tree.

A pause as SpongeBob and Patrick waited.

"Man, I can't wait to kick that maniac's butt." Patrick jumped up and down in excitement.

"You said it, Pat." SpongeBob was patient.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were outside and were somewhat far away from the treedome, they weren't wearing the glass bubbles. Sandy was wearing her astronaut suit.

The three stopped walking.

"I thought you knew karate, SpongeBob." Sandy was curious.

"I just have a heavy interest into that fighting style. I watch it on TV all the time and always wanted to pull off those cool fighting moves." SpongeBob was enthusiastic but he knew that he wanted to learn karate for a serious cause.

"I hope you set realistic goals 'cuz you're gonna experience the real deal." Sandy took out some karate gear of various colors;

The squirrel gave SpongeBob a set of red karate gear and gave Patrick a blue set of karate gear. The sets of gear consisted of a helmet and two large gloves. Sandy put on her own green karate gloves. "If y'all gonna learn karate, you're gonna need the gear."

"So what do we have to do now? Why do we have to walk so far away from your home?" SpongeBob asked as he put on his gear. Patrick was putting on his gear as well.

"This is why." Sandy pointed at numerous rocks that were nearby. "Follow me." She walked to a moderately sized rock.

SpongeBob and Patrick followed Sandy and stood in front of the rock.

"The skills that every karate practitioner must know are the basic stances and balance. Your kicks, blocks, or punches won't be powerful if you're not doing the stances properly. You will need a great amount of balance to maintain these stances. Due to the lack of time and your desire for learning karate quickly, I'll only teach you these skills and a few others. Once you get the stances right, we'll move on to the punches, kicks, and blocks. Please be aware that you won't become really good at karate overnight and it'll take years before you master this martial art. Without further ado, I'll show you how to do the shizentai-dachi or the walking stance." Sandy stood on top of the rock.

"A schizo-tacky what? I don't know Chinese." Patrick was scratching his head.

"That definitely sounds like Japanese to me." SpongeBob was carefully listening to Sandy's advice.

"You're correct, SpongeBob. The name for the stance and the martial art itself came from Japan. Anyways, now I'll teach y'all the stance. First, make sure both of your feet are pointing forward." Sandy made sure her feet were pointing forward as she stood. "Next, your feet have to be apart by a walking length and fist width. It's a good idea to step one of your feet forward to make this easier." The squirrel stepped one of her feet forward, they were exactly a foot's length and fist's width apart. "And the last thing you have to do is tilt your foot at the back by a 45 degree angle while still pointing out." Sandy tilted her back foot by a 45 degree angle while still pointing outward. "Now all you have to do is maintain your balance."

SpongeBob and Patrick watched Sandy as she maintained her pose.

"I think I'm ready. Can I go up and try?" SpongeBob felt confident after watching and listening to Sandy's instructions.

"Go ahead." Sandy jumped off the rock.

SpongeBob climbed up the rock and stood on top of it. He did the walking pose exactly how Sandy did it. He was careful to maintain his balance and kept up the pose for an entire minute.

"This is boring. I want to do the fighting stuff." Patrick became impatient, he found the karate lesson to be quite dull.

"Pat, ya first gotta crawl before you walk." Sandy spoke.

"Very true." Patrick nodded his head.

**THUD**

SpongeBob abruptly fell to the ground. He stood up and brushed off the sand on him. "Heheh. Oops."

"You've understood my instructions pretty well but your balance needs some work. Not bad for a beginner." Sandy reflected on SpongeBob's performance.

SpongeBob smiled.

"It's your turn." Sandy looked at Patrick.

Patrick walked up to the rock and stood on top of it. The stance that he made was similar to what Sandy did except that his back foot wasn't tilted by 45 degrees.

"You gotta tilt your foot by 45 degrees, Patrick." Sandy pointed out Patrick's mistake.

"How do you make my foot cold?" Patrick scratched his head.

"I'm not talking about temperature, I'm talking about angles. I'm referring to the 45 degrees that is an eight of a circle." Sandy tried to clear up Patrick's confusion.

"Oh." Patrick tilted his back foot 45 degrees while still pointing outward. "Okay."

A pause.

Patrick unsteadily maintained his stance. "W-woah." He wasn't going to last for very long.

"Keep your balance." SpongeBob spoke.

Patrick pushed down his feet on to the rock. He no longer moved from side to side and stood still.

CRASH

The rock broke into several pieces from the sheer force of the push of Patrick's feet. The sea star fell into the rubble and digged himself out.

"Karate is not all about brute strength, Patrick. You have to be able to change that strength into several forms. So far, it seems that you can only use that strength for destruction. However, your skills will improve and grow as you keep practicing." Sandy explained the concepts of karate to Patrick.

"Can I try again?" Patrick was somewhat disappointed.

"Be my guest."

Patrick walked to another rock and tried the walking stance once again.

S-S-S-S-S

A few hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob had quickly learned all three basic stances of karate. After much difficulty and many mistakes, Patrick learned them as well. The two friends had also learned how to block. They were now learning and practicing the punches, blocks, and kicks of karate.

"Straight punch." Sandy commanded. The practice had commenced.

SpongeBob was standing in front of a very large rock. He punched it with all his might and left a large crack on the rock. His eyes widened and he marveled at his achievement. "Wow."

"Good job, SpongeBob. Your next, Pat. Straight punch." Sandy gave an order.

Patrick punched the rock that was in front of him but he didn't even make a crack. "Huh?"

"In order for your punches and kicks to be more effective, you've gotta have power, precision, and speed. Using your entire body when punching and kicking will give your hits more power and as a consequence will give them more speed as well. If you give yourself a longer route when hitting your target, the vice-versa will occur. However, none of that will matter if you keep missing your target so that's why you need to have precision." Sandy tried to help out Patrick.

"Kinda like flipping Krabby Patties." SpongeBob made an observation.

"No wonder you like karate, SpongeBob. You learn super quick. Anyways, you understood what I said, Patrick?"

"Yes, sensei." Patrick bowed.

SpongeBob and Sandy giggled.

"Now try again." Sandy ordered for Patrick to repeat the straight punch.

Patrick backed away by a few steps from the rock.

SpongeBob and Sandy were watching the sea star closely.

**CRACK**

**BOOM**

Patrick punched the rock with all the the strength he could muster. It broke into several pieces and those pieces flew in the air. SpongeBob and Sandy ran out of the way as the pieces of rock landed on the ground. Patrick looked at SpongeBob and Sandy. "How did I do?"

A pause. SpongeBob and Sandy were blankly staring at Patrick in shock.

The two began to clap their hands at Patrick's feat.

"I guess I don't know my own strength." Patrick was scratching his head.

'Hmmm...' Sandy was deep in thought. "Do you want to try the other moves, Pat?"

"Yes!" Patrick was jumping in excitement.

"Alright, straight kick." Sandy resumed her lesson.

Patrick directly kicked another rock. Several cracks appeared on the rock.

"Karate chop." Sandy pointed at a specific rock.

Patrick ran to the rock and made a mighty chop with one of his hands. The rock was halved.

"We're still not done. SpongeBob, do a straight kick.

"Rgh!" SpongeBob kicked a rock. It soared into the air and landed from a far distance.

"Karate chop." Sandy pointed at a rock that was behind her.

SpongeBob ran to the rock and made a karate chop. The rock was split into two halves. By this point, SpongeBob was just as skilled as Patrick in karate.

"Think fast." Sandy abruptly threw two rocks at SpongeBob and Patrick.

SpongeBob and Patrick nimbly blocked and deflected the rocks. Sandy had taught them well in the ways of karate.

"Well, that pretty much covers up the basics of karate. Any questions?" Sandy was walking to her treedome.

"Nope." SpongeBob shook his head.

"Me neither. My mind is blank." Patrick forgot why he had learned karate in the first place.

Sandy took off her green karate gloves. "You can take off your gear now, y'know?"

"Oh yeah." SpongeBob took off his red karate gear and put it away.

Patrick took off his gear as well.

SpongeBob noticed that the sun was sinking below the horizon. "Yikes, time flew so fast. We better go hunt down the maniac."

"Oh snap!" Patrick widened his eyes. He remembered why they learned karate.

The two hall monitors walked to the horizon and headed for downtown Bikini Bottom.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The group of thugs were on a rooftop. The Strangler's friend had taken them on a ride to downtown Bikini Bottom. Squidward was tied by a large piece of rope and his mouth was sealed by a piece of duck tape, he was hanging from the edge of the rooftop. The octopus tried to scream through the duck tape so someone could hear him and try to save him.

"Shut up. You're gonna blow our cover." Jack whispered loudly. He took out a lighter and lit up a cigarette. The thug took out a pocket knife and put it near Squidward's throat. "If ya keep screamin', you won't have a head."

Squidward's eyes bugged out and his face drained of color. He became quiet.

A poster flew in the air and landed on the rooftop.

Mike picked it up. He smirked as he looked at the poster. "Look who it is." He showed the poster to the Strangler.

"Heh. Even the police want the little sponge. We could turn him in for some quick bucks." The Strangler smiled.

"We're gonna have to hide our identity though." Jack reminded his group of their status as criminals.

"True." The Strangler nodded his head.

The group of thugs waited for their prey to arrive.

S-S-S-S-S

The ghetto of Bikini Bottom was nearly abandoned. Almost everybody went to their homes to avoid the violence that plagues the area during the nighttime. The gangs in the city do their activity at night to remain illusive from the police. However, tonight was not the case. It won't be long before the police patrol the area in search of the maniac who had been terrorizing Bikini Bottom.

SpongeBob and Patrick were walking across the street. The only thing they heard were their footsteps. They scanned the dilapidated buildings for any signs of the maniac.

Patrick was sweating in anxiety as they walked further and further into the ghetto. "SpongeBob, I'm scared."

"Don't worry, Patrick. The maniac will be nothing once he sees our karate moves." SpongeBob was optimistic and confident with his karate abilities.

Patrick smiled and his fear of the maniac waned.

The two friends walked past a certain building.

S-S-S-S-S

The group of thugs noticed that SpongeBob and Patrick were directly below them.

"Now's our chance." The Strangler whispered.

"**HEY! YELLOW SQUARE AND PINK FATTY! UP HERE!**" Jack screamed at SpongeBob and Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

"WHO CALLED ME FA-" Patrick was yelling back at the rude comments he heard but suddenly stopped talking. His eyes bugged out. "The maniac... is stalking us." He spoke quietly.

SpongeBob took out his red karate gear. "Get ready, Patrick. Time to put our skills to the test." He put his gear on.

Patrick took out his blue karate gear and put it on as well.

SpongeBob and Patrick were back-to-back as they cautiously eyed the area for the maniac.

"**WHAT ARE YOU TWO FOOLS DOIN'? I SAID UP HERE!**" The voice came from above.

"Huh?" SpongeBob looked up. He saw Squidward tied up in rope with his mouth covered in tape. He was hanging from the edge of the rooftop with someone putting a pocket knife near his throat. The sponge also saw some other thugs on the rooftop.

SpongeBob felt an emotion that he had rarely felt in the past. His eyes glowed with fire and anger was released from his heart. The raw emotion traveled up to his brain and consumed his thoughts. He didn't seek an act of revenge, the only thing he was seeking at that moment was the protection of his friend.

Patrick looked up and saw what happened. He tightened his fists. "Those jerks..." He spoke with clenched teeth.

SpongeBob walked to the front door of the building.

**SLAM**

He opened the door so hard that it nearly flew off its hinges. SpongeBob stomped into the building. Patrick quickly followed.

S-S-S-S-S

The Strangler was chuckling. "Everything is going as planned."

Mike opened the door to the stairs that led to the inside of the building. "That sponge isn't safe with that friend of his. Those two guys are gonna get the whooping of their lives." The thug was prepared to attack the two friends.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick entered a run-down living room. There were a few ashtrays on the floor and on a small table. The furniture was in poor condition and the paint was peeling from the walls. The two friends found a set of wooden stairs and began to jog up the steps. SpongeBob and Patrick made loud sounds as they went up the stairs due to the age of the wood.

S-S-S-S-S

The group of thugs heard the loud steps of SpongeBob and Patrick as they went upstairs.

"Oh boy, they're coming alright." Mike made a wider smirk and twirled his bat.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

There was only a few steps left, SpongeBob and Patrick were close to reaching the top of the building. Mike awaited them at the rooftop with his baseball bat. However, Mike couldn't see the two friends due to the dim lighting of the building.

Time slowed.

**BAM**

The fist of a red karate glove sailed into Mike's face. He flew across the rooftop and landed near the edge, he almost lost his grip of the metal bat.

Time resumed.

Mike shakily stood up. "The hell?!" He saw who had punched him.

SpongeBob and Patrick slowly walked into the rooftop. They had dire expressions on their faces.

Jack threw Squidward to the side. He took out his lighter and lit it up so he could use it as a weapon. "The fools won't go down without a fight."

Mike twirled his metal bat. "Rggh!" He charged towards SpongeBob and made a deadly swing with the bat.

SpongeBob quickly jumped out of the way. Patrick grabbed Mike's ankle from behind and threw the thug to the floor.

Marcus took out a lead pipe that was concealed inside his jacket. He swung low so he could trip Patrick.

Patrick blocked the attack.

**SMACK**

The sea star slapped Marcus across the face. Patrick grabbed the pipe that Marcus was holding and twirled it and the thug around for several seconds before he-

**SLAM**

threw Marcus to the floor.

Ricky took out a taser that was in his pocket.

Jack sliced his pocket knife at SpongeBob.

SpongeBob blocked the attack in less than a second. He kicked Jack across the chest and karate chopped the thug on the side of the body.

Jack unsteadily went back a few steps but soon shook back to his senses. "Crap! They know Kung-fu!"

"It's called karate!" SpongeBob uppercutted Jack.

Jack soared in the air and eventually landed on the floor.

Mike and Marcus stood back up and ran towards Patrick and SpongeBob.

Mike swung his bat at Patrick.

Patrick dodged to the side. The sea star tried to kick Mike but missed.

Mike grabbed Patrick's leg and ragdolled the sea star on the floor repeatedly like a wrestler.

Patrick punched Mike in the chest in the middle of one of the thug's throws.

Mike nearly fell to the floor. He charged towards Patrick.

Ricky ganged up on Patrick and charged towards him as well while sticking his taser out.

Patrick hit the taser to the side and dove out of the way.

SLAM

Ricky and Mike accidently tackled each other.

Marcus swung his lead pipe down on SpongeBob.

SpongeBob flipped out of the way like an acrobat.

Marcus twirled his lead pipe super fast and ran towards SpongeBob. His lead pipe was a lead fan and was going to shred SpongeBob to bits.

SpongeBob timed his kick just right and hit the lead pipe with his foot.

The lead pipe flew in the air. It eventually landed on the floor and made a clattering sound.

Marcus dove to the pipe.

SpongeBob kicked Marcus in the stomach.

Marcus flew across the air and hit Jack just as the thug was starting to get up.

Patrick continuously punched and karate chopped Ricky and Mike.

Ricky found the taser and picked it up. He stabbed it towards Patrick.

Patrick pushed Ricky towards Mike.

**ZAAAAP**

Ricky accidentally stung Mike with the taser instead. Mike collapsed to the floor and was stunned.

Ricky ran towards Patrick and tried to sting the sea star with the taser.

Patrick punched the taser out of Ricky's hands. The taser landed on the floor and Patrick ran towards it. He stomped on the taser and shattered it to pieces.

Ricky took out a dagger that was inside his baseball cap.

Patrick cartwheeled towards Ricky and hit the thug with both his feet and hands.

Ricky collapsed to the floor and became stunned from the several impacts he had received.

Jack stood up and charged towards SpongeBob from behind. He was using the lighter like a flamethrower and was going to put SpongeBob's clothes in flames.

SpongeBob expertly karate chopped the lighter and the tool was released from Jack's grasp. The lighter flew through the door and tumbled down the stairs.

Jack stabbed SpongeBob with his pocket knife.

SpongeBob nimbly dodged the attack and kicked low. Jack tripped on SpongeBob's leg and fell to the floor.

SpongeBob grabbed Jack and lifted him up. He threw the thug through the door and Jack tumbled across the stairs.

"That's it!" The Strangler took out a large machete.

Marcus stood up and picked up his pipe.

Ricky stood up and gripped his dagger tightly.

A pause.

Mike stood up and twirled his baseball bat. "Play time is over."

The Strangler and Marcus charged towards SpongeBob and Patrick while Ricky and Mike ran towards the two friends from the other side.

SpongeBob and Patrick were back-to-back and narrowed their eyes.

S-S-S-S-S

Jack stood up and his vision became clear. He noticed that his lighter had created a large fire in the room and had spread to the other parts of the house.

"**DEAR NEPTUNE! BROS, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE! WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!**" Jack quickly ran downstairs, he wa running for his life.

S-S-S-S-S

The group of thugs heard Jack's scream and stopped running. The thugs, SpongeBob, and Patrick looked below the stairs and noticed the glow of a large fire. A small amount of smoke was coming out of the door and was entering the outside air.

"These two fools are pretty smart." Mike made a comment.

"Yikes!" SpongeBob ran downstairs. Patrick followed him.

"Tartar sauce! C'mon guys, they're getting away!" The Strangler grabbed Squidward and ran downstairs as well.

The other thugs followed the Strangler. The group was chasing SpongeBob and Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick ran down the stairs as fast as they could. They coughed as smoke filled their lungs. The fire was burning through the walls of the house and burned objects were falling down to the stairs and floor.

**SMASH**

One of the wooden steps was shattered by a lead pipe. It was only a few inches away from SpongeBob's foot. Marcus failed in his attempt to trip SpongeBob.

**CRUNCH**

A metal bat broke off a part of a wooden banister. Mike failed to hit Patrick in the head with his bat.

**SHIIIING**

The Strangler swung his large machete directly at SpongeBob as if it was a sword.

Time slowed.

SpongeBob dove and dodged the machete.

**THUNK**

The machete stabbed the wall instead.

Time resumed.

The Strangler pulled the machete out of the wall.

Ricky somersaulted down the stairs and went past SpongeBob and Patrick. He reached the living room and stood up, the thug prepared his dagger. Jack was next to him and took out his pocket knife.

SpongeBob and Patrick were surrounded.

The two friends leaped off the stairs and landed on the other side of Jack and Ricky.

The Strangler, Marcus, and Mike suddenly came into Jack and Ricky's vision.

The two thugs' eyes bugged out. "Fish pa-" Ricky was going to say something.

SWASH CLANK SWASH CLANK SWASH

The thugs accidentally crashed into each other. Their metal weapons collided together and flew in the air. Squidward was released from the Strangler's grasp.

"Watch out!" Marcus dove out of the way. The other thugs dove to the floor as well.

THUNK CLANG THUNK CLANG THUNK

The metal weapons landed on the floor. The machete, pocket knife, and dagger stabbed the floor while the bat and lead pipe rattled on the floor.

Squidward landed in SpongeBob's a arms. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward in tow escaped the house.

The thugs tried to find their respective weapons as the fire raged on.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob laid Squidward on the ground. "Are you okay, Squid?"

Squidward nodded.

"Have you got hurt anywhere?" SpongeBob was concerned for Squidward's health.

Squidward shook his head.

"I'll take off that tape." SpongeBob slowly took the tape off Squidward's mouth.

"Batter up!" Mike ran out of the building and headed towards SpongeBob just as he finished taking off the tape from Squidward's mouth. Mike swung the bat.

**SLAM**

The bat hit the sponge. SpongeBob flew in the air and hit a wooden fence.

**BAM**

Patrick punched Mike in the chest and pushed him out of the way.

Jack, Marcus, and Ricky exited the building and charged towards Patrick.

Patrick karate chopped them with both of his hands. He grabbed Jack by the leg and threw him high into the air.

Jack flipped in the air and landed on the ground really hard with a **THUD**. He became unconscious.

Ricky stabbed with his dagger at Patrick.

Patrick snatched the dagger and hit Ricky's forehead with the blunt side of the dagger.

Ricky became dizzy but he soon got back to his senses. He grabbed his dagger and ran to a trash can. The thug lifted the trash can up.

Marcus walked up to Patrick and twirled his lead pipe.

Mike ran towards Patrick and lifted up his bat so he could swing down on the sea star.

Patrick flattened himself on the ground in half a second.

Ricky threw the trash can.

The lead pipe deflected Mike's bat. The bat hit Mike in the face and the thug became extremely dizzy.

The lead pipe also deflected the trash can. The trash can flew towards Ricky. Ricky dove to the ground and dodged the trash can.

Marcus lost his grip of the weapon and the pipe fell to his feet. "Ow!" He hopped on one foot in pain.

Patrick took the lead pipe and hit Marcus in the head with the metal weapon. Marcus fell to the ground and became unconscious.

Ricky threw his dagger at Patrick like a boomerang.

Patrick stepped out of the way and dodged the dagger.

**THUNK**

The dagger stabbed into the wooden fence.

**BAM**

Patrick punched Mike in the face without even looking, the thug had sneaked up behind him. Mike slowly fell to the ground and became unconscious.

Ricky ran to the fence to get his dagger.

**SLAM**

Patrick kicked the back of Ricky's head.

**THUD**

Ricky collapsed to the ground and became unconscious.

The still bodies of the knocked out thugs were laying on the ground. There was only one thug left.

The Strangler had watched the fight unfold and decided to take action. He tackled SpongeBob.

**CRASH**

The two broke a hole through the fence.

S-S-S-S-S

**SHIIING**

The Strangler was going to stab SpongeBob's throat. SpongeBob's money was no longer important, the Strangler's friends had been beaten to a pulp. The Strangler wanted to murder SpongeBob instead of mugging him.

SpongeBob grasped the machete with his karate gloves. The sturdy material of the gloves prevented the sponge's skin from getting cut by the machete. He used all the strength he could muster to push the machete away as the Strangler inched the machete closer and closer to SpongeBob's throat.

SpongeBob slapped the machete off the Strangler's hands in desperation. The machete landed on the ground and clattered.

"Very well, I'll just use my signature move." The Strangler grabbed SpongeBob's throat with both of his hands and strangled SpongeBob.

SpongeBob's vision was becoming hazy. The sponge punched, kicked, and karate chopped the Strangler with all of his strength. The thug received severe blows to multiple areas of his body. The Strangler let go of SpongeBob and became extremely dizzy.

**BAM**

SpongeBob made an uppercut that hit the Strangler's jaw.

The Strangler sailed to the air and flew to the other side of the fence.

S-S-S-S-S

THUD

The Strangler landed on the ground and became unconscious. SpongeBob and Patrick had defeated all the thugs.

"Don't worry, Squid. No one is going to hurt you anymore." Patrick untied the rope that was binding Squidward. The octopus stood up but he was oddly quiet, he had been silent for the entire fight with the thugs. Squidward was heavily considering the decision to alert the authorities of SpongeBob's whereabouts.

S-S-S-S-S

The officers that spoke to Patrick were driving across the streets of the ghetto, they were searching for the maniac.

The other officer noticed that there was a building that was on fire. "Dear Neptune! Rob, look!" The other officer pointed at the burning building.

Rob looked to his left and saw the fire. "John, go call the firemen. I'll investigate the scene."

John took out his cell phone and dialed a number. He put the phone near his ear.

**SCREEEECH**

The car screeched to a halt in front of the building.

**SLAM**

Rob pushed the door open and he walked into the scene, he saw a familiar sea star. "So, we meet again." He noticed that an octopus was next to the sea star and that there were unconscious bodies of thugs laying on the ground. "Would you care to explain what happened here?"

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stood up. "Phew. That was close." He wiped the sweat off his brow. He saw a poster that was laying on the ground and he picked it up. The thing that SpongeBob was holding was a 'WANTED' poster with a drawing of himself on it. "Huh, this guy's not half-bad-looking for a maniac." The sponge made a sudden realization. "Wait a minute." He crawled through the hole in the fence.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked up to Patrick. "P-Patrick, I'm the maniac!" He showd the poster to the sea star.

"**AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!**" Patrick screamed in fright.

Squidward gulped.

"I'll take that as a confession." Rob took out his handcuffs.

SpongeBob turned around and gave his hands to the officer, he wasn't going to resist the authorities.

The officer handcuffed SpongeBob and guided him to the car.

"W-wait, officer! What about the beat-up thugs?" Squidward followed Rob.

Rob looked at the unconscious group of thugs. "Were you responsible for this?" He looked at SpongeBob.

"Yes. My friend helped out too." SpongeBob looked at Patrick.

Rob was deep in thought.

A pause.

SpongeBob sweatdropped.

"I'll let you off the hook." He released SpongeBob from the handcuffs. "However, you'll only have a reduced fine of $15."

"Okay." SpongeBob took out his wallet and gave the officer $15.

"Time to round up these thugs." Rob walked to the thugs and handcuffed each of them.

The three neighbors could hear a blaring siren.

**SCREEECH**

A fire truck parked in front of the building. Several firemen came out of the truck and tried to take down the fire with several water hoses.

The three neighbors left the premises and walked home.

"Thank you so much, Squidward. You're a really good friend." SpongeBob smiled.

"I only did it because you saved me from those thugs." Squidward brushed off SpongeBob's comment.

"Stop lying, Squid. You're trying to be good friend." Patrick smirked.

"No I'm not!" Squidward became annoyed.

SpongeBob and Patrick laughed.

S-S-S-S-S

Half an hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

The group of thugs were inside a police car. They were handcuffed and couldn't move because they were tightly squeezed into the car.

"It was all your fault, Jack. If you didn't use that lighter, this wouldn't have happened." Mike was extremely irritated.

"Nuh-uh." Jack shook his head. "That sponge did some karate move and got the lighter off my hand."

"True." Marcus nodded his head.

The group of thugs were in a grumpy mood.


	11. Pizza Delivery

**Chapter 11: Pizza Delivery**

* * *

6:00 PM. Monday evening.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was reading a newspaper while sitting in the boat, the headlines were 'MANIAC BECOMES TOWN HERO'. The newspaper didn't go into too much detail about Squidward being taken as a hostage by the thugs and the torment that the octopus had to go through.

"Rubbish." Squidward spoke quietly and shook his head. He put the newspaper away. "Hurry up with those chairs, SpongeBob, it's after closing and I'd like to go HOME."

SpongeBob was cleaning a table with a bucket of water and a towel. He heard what Squidward said and quickened his pace a bit.

**RING RING RING RING RING RING**

The telephone that was next to the cash register rang.

'Oh boy, what now?' The sound had irritated Squidward, the octopus had a short temper due to becoming impatient with SpongeBob.

"I got it, I got it! Coming." SpongeBob stopped cleaning the table and leaped towards the phone.

Squidward picked up the phone.

**THUD**

SpongeBob landed face-first on the floor.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs was inspecting the cleanliness of the kitchen when he heard the ringing of the phone. He looked over the ordering window and saw Squidward answering the telephone.

S-S-S-S-S

"Hello?" Squidward spoke into the phone.

An electronic voice was heard. The person on the other line of the phone wanted pizza.

"Sorry, sir, we're close-" Squidward wanted to dismiss the phone call, he didn't want to work extra hours. However, a red claw snatched the phone right before Squidward was going to finish his sentence.

"Ahoy there, Krusty Krab. How could I help you?" Mr. Krabs spoke into the phone.

The person on the other line once again explained that he wanted to order some pizza.

"Pizza?" Mr. Krabs fantasized about the money he could earn, it was an excellent opportunity to earn some extra cash. "Of course we have pizza." The crab smirked.

"Uhh, Mr. Krabs..." Squidward looked up at the Galley Grub and didn't see pizza on the menu.

"Our delivery squid will bring it right over, but you have to tell us where you live." Mr. Krabs continued the conversation on the phone.

The electronic voice said a certain address.

Mr. Krabs wrote the address on a sticky note. "Have a nice day." He made a pirate laugh and put the phone down.

"Mr. Krabs, we don't serve pizza." Squidward was disappointed, he had been chosen to deliver the pizza.

"You're right, Mr. Squidward." Mr. Krabs nodded. He turned to look at SpongeBob. "Do you know how to make a pizza?"

"Yep." SpongeBob made a wide smile.

"Go cook one right now." Mr. Krabs found a ladder that was inside the kitchen and took it out.

**CRRREAK**

**SLAM**

The crustacean exited the kitchen and put the ladder on a wall. He climbed up the ladder and took several things from the storage area. Mr. Krabs climbed back down and moved the ladder near the Galley Grub, he was holding a brush and a bucket of paint. He climbed up to the Galley Grub and dipped the brush into the bucket of paint. The crab wrote pizza as a new food on the menu and a ridiculous price to go with it. Once he was done, he climbed back down, put the brush and bucket of paint away; and put the ladder back inside the kitchen.

**CRRRREAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob entered the kitchen and began to cook the pizza.

"We now serve pizza." Mr. Krabs smiled.

"We don't deliver." Squidward continued to complain.

"We don't deliver, but you do." Mr. Krabs pointed at Squidward.

"Can't you just get SpongeBob to do it?" Squidward was trying to avoid the responsibility of delivering the pizza.

A light bulb lit up in Mr. Krabs' head. "Great idea!" The crustacean looked at the ordering window. "SpongeBob, when you're done with the pizza, you're coming with Squidward to deliver it."

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob smiled even more. He made a thumbs-up as he cooked the pizza.

S-S-S-S-S

"That's not what I had in mind!" Squidward was determined to leave work and call it a day.

"Too bad." Mr. Krabs shrugged. He gave the sticky note with the address to Squidward.

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

The crustacean entered his office.

Squidward was in a very bad mood, one of the worst things to happen while working in the Krusty Krab had just occurred. It was a rough start for the week of work.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob exited the kitchen, he was carrying a box with the pizza inside of it.

"Let's get this over with." Squidward stood up from the boat.

The two entered the kitchen and went through another door. They were outside the back of the Krusty Krab. Squidward walked behind the dumpster and SpongeBob followed, they saw a boatmobile.

"I've never noticed that before." SpongeBob was slightly surprised.

"Trust me, I know my way around here. I've been working here for years." Squidward sat inside the vehicle, he felt a little better knowing that he worked in the Krusty Krab longer than SpongeBob.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob sat next to Squidward, he was careful to keep a firm grasp on the pizza box.

A pause.

SpongeBob suddenly realized something. "Can you hold this?" He handed the box to Squidward. The sponge stood up and got off the vehicle. He walked to the front of the boatmobile. "Front end... check." SpongeBob was inspecting the vehicle, he took the pizza delivery very seriously. "Antenna..." He touched the antenna of the boat and made it vibrate. "...check." He walked to the back of the vehicle and crouched down. "Bumper sticker..." He saw a bumper sticker that had the words 'I Brake For *Sea Urchins*' in green text. "...check." SpongeBob then squeezed one of the back wheels with both of his hands. "Tire pressure... check. And one more thing." SpongeBob stood up and sat inside the boat once again. He twisted the key in the keyhole and turned the boat on. "GPS..." SpongeBob saw the GPS on the boat; it was functioning properly. "...check. Vehicle inspection complete! We're really making history here Squidward. That lucky customer is going to get the first Krabby Patty Pizza ever." SpongeBob reached a hand out so he could get the pizza box.

"Good, then you drive." Squidward grasped the box tightly and didn't let SpongeBob take it.

SpongeBob's eyes widened, his face drained of color, and he began to sweat. The sponge was far from being a decent driver. "I can't. I'm still in Boating School." It was like the boating exams all over again.

"Come on, SpongeBob. It's just around the corner." Squidward looked at the address on the sticky note and inputted a specific set of coordinates on the GPS.

"Well, yeah, but..." SpongeBob anxiously looked at the steering wheel.

"Just do what you do in school." Squidward was completely oblivious to SpongeBob's poor driving ability.

"Well, okay. Wait, don't tell me." SpongeBob was hesitant to grasp the steering wheel.

"Back it up." Squidward seemed to be SpongeBob's substitute Boating School teacher.

"Huh?" SpongeBob gave Squidward a puzzled look.

"Back it up." Squidward was becoming more irritated than before, he now had to deal with SpongeBob's hesitance to drive the boatmobile.

"Alright, back it up." SpongeBob grasped the stick shift but was too anxious to move it.

"Back it up!" Squidward was losing his patience.

"Okay, okay." SpongeBob was becoming more and more nervous.

"Shift into reverse, SpongeBob!" Squidward was barking an order.

"Reverse?" SpongeBob's anxiety distorted his vision. The words 'FORWARD' and 'BACKWARD' on the stick shift became Korean characters. "Backing it up!" He moved the stick shift down.

**VRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM**

The boatmobile backed up at a rapid speed and it was accelerating faster and faster as time went on.

Squidward's eyes bugged out. He knew that an accident was bound to happen if SpongeBob continued to drive. "Gimme the wheel, SpongeBob. Give me the wheel!" The octopus put the box on his lap and tried to grab the steering wheel.

"Backing up! Backing up!" SpongeBob was still grasping the stick shift. "Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack-i-i-i-i-i-ng up!"

The boatmobile was backing up through a large area of rocks. The vehicle shook violently as the wheels passed through the rocks. Squidward was unable to grasp the wheel.

The vehicle abruptly began to spin around rapidly, they had left the area of rocks.

SpongeBob shook back to his senses and gasped. "The shift!" He desperately tried to push up the stick shift, Squidward assisted him in the process. Unfortunately, the stick shift wouldn't budge and was stuck in the 'BACKWARD' direction.

"**BAAAAAAARRRNAAAAAACLEEEEESSS!**" Squidward screamed in anger and frustration.

The boatmobile entered a road. The stick shift moved up a bit and the vehicle slowed down somewhat, the stick was still jammed however.

Squidward grasped the steering wheel and turned it until the boatmobile was backing up directly through the road.

"Should we call 9-1-1?" SpongeBob was looking at his surroundings nervously.

"It would be useless at this point, they would never catch up with us." Squidward knew that the vehicle's speed was too fast for the police to handle.

SpongeBob stood up and looked over the edge of the boatmobile. "Maybe we should jump off." The situation was calling for drastic measures.

"I can't imagine what injury you're gonna get once you do that." Squidward shook his head, what SpongeBob was about to do was a bad idea.

"Right." SpongeBob nodded and sat back down. "Sooo... what do we do now?"

Squidward was looking at the GPS. "We're reaching the outskirts of Bikini Bottom. The best course of action would be to wait until this car runs out of gas. Once that happens, we'll go back to Bikini Bottom and deliver that damn pizza once and for all."

"Are we going to abandon this boatmobile? Maybe we should push it back to the Krusty Krab once it's out of fuel." SpongeBob made a suggestion.

"Do you want to make this living hell any worse?" Squidward glared at SpongeBob.

"No." SpongeBob bit his lip and shook his head.

"Good." Squidward nodded his head and looked at the road in front of him.

A pause.

"What happens if we get sleepy?" SpongeBob still had several questions in his mind.

"Can't get enough of those 'what ifs', eh? Anyways, if we're sleepy enough, I believe we're able to sleep this wait out. Unless the sound of this car's engine keeps us awake." Squidward was still acting like SpongeBob's teacher in some sort of way.

SpongeBob tried to move the stick shift up, it moved up a few inches before it became jammed again.

The boat slowed down a bit more and the engine became quiet.

"I see." Squidward understood the intention of SpongeBob's action.

SpongeBob yawned and moved his chair down as if it was a bed.

"Already?" Squidward smirked.

"Good night, Squidward." SpongeBob closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Squidward continued to watch the GPS as the vehicle's location moved bit by bit on the map.

S-S-S-S-S

A few hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward slowly closed his eyes and drifted into a silent darkness.

S-S-S-S-S

The next day...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Squidward woke up. The boatmobile had stopped backing up, it had ran out of gas. They were in the middle of nowhere and the GPS indicated that the two were a few miles from Bikini Bottom. The difficult part of their journey to deliver the pizza had begun.

SpongeBob put his hand on the pizza box. "I think the pizza's getting cold."

Squidward took the GPS off the front end of the vehicle. "That's the least of our worries. We don't know if we're even going to SURVIVE this trip." The octopus looked at the long distance ahead of him, there were no buildings in sight.

*gasp* "Are you suggesting we're going to eat the pi-" SpongeBob's eyes widened.

"No, no." Squidward shook his head. "It's obvious that the pizza is our top priority, I'll scavenge for food before I eat the pizza." The octopus got out of the boatmobile.

"Phew." SpongeBob wiped sweat off his brow, took the pizza box, and got out of the vehicle.

Squidward saved the location of the boatmobile on the GPS.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The two were walking near the road.

"Ow, ow, ow." Squidward's feet were already getting tired.

"The Krusty Krab pizza is the pizza for you and me. The Krusty Krab pizza is the pizza-" SpongeBob was singing before he got interrupted.

"And my feet are killing me." Squidward joined in the singing.

SpongeBob suddenly laid down on the ground. He rubbed the sand, felt a vibration, and heard a sound.

"Woah." Squidward tripped over SpongeBob and fell with a **THUD**. "SpongeBob? What are you doing?" The octopus stood up and looked at a laying SpongeBob.

"It's an old pioneer trick. I saw it in a movie once." SpongeBob was concentrating.

"SpongeBob, this is no time for-" Squidward found SpongeBob's act to be ridiculous.

"Shh, shh, shh. It's working." SpongeBob wanted to remove all distractions. The sound that he heard was becoming louder and louder and the ground was vibrating some more.

"What is it?" Squidward raised his brow.

SpongeBob stood up and pointed at an incoming truck across the road. "Truck! Sixteen wheels. Now I can show you how the pioneers hitchhiked." The sponge ran to and stood in the middle of the road. He began to make a goofy dance. "WheeEEEeeeeEEEE."

The truck was heading straight for SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

"Crashin' frashin' break dancer!" The truck driver saw SpongeBob and his eyes bugged out.

**HOOOOOOONNNNNNK**

He slammed on the horn of the truck.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward's eyes widened, he noticed that the truck was not stopping. He dove towards SpongeBob and pushed themselves out of the way.

The truck passed by and covered SpongeBob and Squidward in sand.

The two dug themselves out of the sand.

"Heheh. Oops." SpongeBob smiled nervously.

Squidward glared at SpongeBob for a few seconds and then resumed his long walk.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

Patrick exited his rock, he had woken up. The moment he took a step outside, he knew something was wrong. The sea star didn't hear Squidward playing his clarinet.

Patrick walked to the front door of Squidward's tiki. "Squid?"

**KNOCK KNOCK**

He knocked on the door.

A pause. There was no response.

**CRRREEEEAK**

Patrick opened the door and entered the tiki.

S-S-S-S-S

He walked upstairs and entered the music room. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Patrick scanned the room. The clarinet and a closed book of music sheets were on the sheet holder, there were no signs of activity.

"Squid's not here. Maybe SpongeBob knows why." Patrick walked downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

**SLAM**

Patrick exited the tiki and closed the front door. He walked to the front door of SpongeBob's pineapple.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

"SpongeBob, you there?" Patrick knocked on the door.

**CRRREEEEAK**

"Meow." Gary opened the door.

"Is SpongeBob here? Squidward is not at home." Patrick was somewhat worried.

"Meow meow." Gary shook his head.

"Where have you last seen SpongeBob and Squid?"

"Meow meow."

"Going to work? Hmmm..." Patrick was deep in thought. He took out the ice cream cone from yesterday and put it on his head. "Time to investigate!" The sea star became a detective.

"Meow." Gary nodded.

**SLAM**

Patrick closed the front door and put Gary on his shoulder. The sea star and snail headed for the Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick and Gary were in front of the Krusty Krab. The front doors were locked and Patrick was unable to open them. It was too early for the Krusty Krab to open.

"Who owns this place?" Patrick looked at Gary.

"Meow." Gary was looking behind Patrick.

Patrick turned around and saw Mr. Krabs walking to the restaurant with his key.

"Stop right there!" Patrick tackled Mr. Krabs.

"W-woah." Mr. Krabs fell to the ground from Patrick's weight.

Patrick lifted up Mr. Krabs by the shirt. "Where's SpongeBob and Squidward!?"

"Why did you do that?" Mr. Krabs was angry.

"For your information, I'm SpongeBob's best friend. I haven't seen SpongeBob and Squidward for a whole day. WHERE. WERE. THEY!?" Patrick had lost his temper.

"They were off delivering some pizza and I haven't heard from them either." Mr. Krabs spoke.

Plop!

Patrick dropped Mr. Krabs to the ground.

"What were they doing when you last saw them?" Patrick continued to ask questions.

"They were driving a boatmobile. Was that all you wanted to know, lad?" Mr. Krabs stood up.

"SpongeBob hasn't earned his driver's license yet. Something bad must've happened." Patrick narrowed his eyes.

Mr. Krabs looked at his key and abruptly realized something. He imagined all the money he would lose without SpongeBob and Squidward working in the Krusty Krab. The crustacean bit his lip. "You know what? I'll go with you. Those two people that you were talking about are important to me as well."

Patrick smiled. "What place were they heading to?"

"I'll show you. The person who ordered the pizza had told me his address." Mr. Krabs walked ahead of Patrick.

The sea star followed. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

Mr. Krabs made a pirate laugh. "This old crab still has a good memory."

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Squidward persistently walked across the barren and uninhabited wilderness. A moderate breeze was blowing against them.

"The Krusty Krab pizza is the pizza for you and me. The Krusty Krab pizza is the pizza free delivery. The Krusty Krab pizza is the pizza very ta-asty." SpongeBob sung as he carried the pizza, he tightly gripped the box so the wind didn't blow it out of his hands.

A powerful gust of wind abruptly came in and pushed SpongeBob and Squidward back by several feet. The pizza box was lifted to the air and flew in the direction of the gust, SpongeBob didn't let go and continued to hold on to the box.

Squidward saw SpongeBob flying with the pizza box several feet above the ground. "Will you let go of that stupid pizza already?!" He ran towards SpongeBob.

"I can't, it's for the customer!" SpongeBob shook his head, he refused to let to.

"Who cares about the customer?!" Squidward was jumping repeatedly as he tried to grab SpongeBob's feet, he wanted to pull the sponge down to the ground.

"I do!" SpongeBob was determined to deliver the pizza.

"Well I don't!" Squidward became frustrated as each of his attempts failed.

The strong gust shifted to the opposite direction.

"Squidward, watch out!" SpongeBob was flying directly towards Squidward.

"Let go of that pizza!" Squidward grabbed SpongeBob's feet, he was finally successful. The octopus then began to pull SpongeBob to the ground. Squidward thought that survival was more important than the pizza, he directly contradicted what he had said earlier.

"No! It's for the customer!" SpongeBob held on to the pizza box with all of his might.

Squidward looked ahead of SpongeBob and his eyes bugged out. He found out the reason why the gust of wind has shifted to the opposite direction. A large dust devil was heading directly towards them.

The two were lifted up and were sucked into the dust devil.

"SpongeBob! Hang on to the pizza!" Squidward held on to SpongeBob's feet. He tried to spit some sand from the dust devil out of his mouth as he spoke.

A pause.

The dust devil dissipated.

**T-THUD**

SpongeBob and Squidward fell to the ground.

A large cloud of sand was formed.

A long pause.

The cloud disappeared and revealed SpongeBob and Squidward lying on the ground.

The two stood up.

Squidward looked around but couldn't see the road. "Where's the road? Where's the road?" He ran around in a desperate attempt to find the road. "We're doomed! How are we gonna get home, which way do we go?"

SpongeBob saw the GPS laying on the ground and picked it up. He walked towards Squidward.

"What are we gonna do now! There's no road he-" Someone tapped Squidward's shoulder.

SpongeBob handed him the GPS.

"Oh yeah!" Squidward smiled and looked at the GPS to check their location. "We're nearby New Kelp City. At least we made some sort of progress."

The two resumed their walk towards Bikini Bottom.

"The Krusty Krab pizza absolutivally." SpongeBob continued to sing. "Pizza... pizza..." He made drum sounds by tapping under the pizza box.

SpongeBob didn't sing and only made drum sounds with the box for several seconds.

"Krusty KrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb pizza is the pizza, yeah, for you and, meeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEeeeeee!" SpongeBob sang in his singing voice.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The two employees were exhausted from the long walk, they were walking very slowly.

"Krab pizza..." SpongeBob collapsed to the ground.

Squidward allowed himself to collapse to the ground as well. "Sponge, we gotta eat something." Squidward was ravenous.

"I heard in times of hardship, the pioneers would eat coral." SpongeBob spoke in a quiet voice.

Squidward grabbed a piece of coral that was nearby. He then attempted to eat it.

"No, maybe it wasn't coral." SpongeBob shook his head.

Squidward spat out the piece of coral.

"Maybe it was sand, no, mud." SpongeBob wasn't thinking straight.

"Give me the pizza!" Squidward stood up and walked towards SpongeBob. He was going to eat the pizza in a desperate attempt to satisfy his hunger.

"Wait, I remember now. It was coral!" SpongeBob made a wide smile.

"Give it to me!" Squidward reached down to grab the pizza box.

"No, we promised it's for the customer." SpongeBob stood up and backed away.

"You're right. It's for the customer." Squidward wore a smile. He was going to do anything so he could get his hands on the pizza.

"Yeah!" SpongeBob wiped sweat off his brow in relief.

"Maybe we should check on it, y'know, just to make sure it's okay." Squidward was acting to the best of his ablity.

SpongeBob was deep in thought, he was considering Squidward's suggestion.

"Just a peek." Squidward opened the box and looked inside.

"Okay, it's fine." SpongeBob looked inside as well and closed the box.

"No, I think I saw something." Squidward opened the box again. "Oh no, I was wrong. It looks okay. Sure is a fine looking pizza." The octopus licked his lips, he locked-on to his target.

"Yeah." SpongeBob looked at the pizza and nodded.

"What's that? Is that the cheese?" Squidward pointed at the pizza. The last thing he had to do was to distract SpongeBob.

"Yeah!" SpongeBob became hungry as well.

"And the pepperoni?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, looks good, huh?" Squidward put his hand closer and closer to the pizza.

"Wait a second, I know what you're trying to do Squidward." SpongeBob shook back to his senses. "I'm not letting you eat the pizza!" He closed the box.

"Give me the pizza!" Squidward became angry.

"No!" SpongeBob backed away by several steps.

"Don't make me take it away from you, SpongeBob!" Squidward stomped towards the sponge.

"Get away!" SpongeBob began to run away from Squidward.

"Get back here, SpongeBob. Give me the pizza!" Squidward chased SpongeBob.

"No!" SpongeBob was determined to not give Squidward the pizza.

"SpongeBob!" Squidward was catching up to the sponge.

"No!"

"Wait!" Squidward reached a hand out and tried to grab SpongeBob.

"No!" SpongeBob bumped into Squidward and fell to the ground.

"I want that pizza and youre gonna hand it over one way or another!" Squidward looked down at SpongeBob. His shadow enveloped the sponge.

S-S-S-S-S

A Cadillac boatmobile was driving from New Kelp City and headed for Bikini Bottom. The Strangler's old friend was driving the vehicle. He wore a black jacket and a gold chain necklace. He was using his cell-phone while driving the boatmobile.

"You said it, Strangler." The friend was talking to the Strangler. The person on the other end was in prison.

"_Shawn, if you find a yellow square with a girlish voice or a pink sea star who's a total idiot, you know what to do._" The Strangler's electronic voice was heard.

"Aight." Shawn put the cell-phone away. At that moment, he saw SpongeBob and Squidward fighting over a pizza box.

**SCRREEEEEECH**

The thug hit the brake pad and stopped the car.

"Those two barnacle heads don't know what's coming for them." Shawn smirked and got out of his vehicle.

S-S-S-S-S

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

Patrick knocked on a front door. Mr. Krabs was next to him.

**CRRREEEEAK**

"Yes?" A young man opened the door.

"Aren't you the customer that called the Krusty Krab yesterday for a pizza?" Mr. Krabs asked.

"Yeah. I still don't have the pizza. What happened to it?" The young man was oblivious to the dire situation that he was in.

"WHERE DID YOU HIDE SPONGEBOB AND SQUIDWARD?!" Patrick began his interrogation of the customer.

"You mean the employees? I didn't kidnap them." The customer hadn't committed any foul play.

"Then let us search your house." Patrick folded his arms and kept a serious demeanor.

The customer moved to the side. "Go right ahead. But I'm telling you, I didn't kidnap anybody."

"We'll see about that." Patrick entered the house. "Gary, if you see something suspicious, all you have to do is meow."

"Meow." Gary nodded.

Mr. Krabs followed the sea star.

**SLAM**

The door was closed.

Patrick ransacked the living room in his search for the two neighbors.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob saw Shawn walking up to him from the corner of his eye. "Look, we're saved!" He pointed at the thug.

"Sure, we're saved. Now give me some pizza!" Squidward became impatient.

"No, really Squid, we're saved! We're saved! We're saved!" SpongeBob stood up and ran to the thug. The sponge immediately saw Shawn's boatmobile. *gasps* "He even has a car!"

"SpongeBob, whe-" Squidward's eyes bugged out. He saw the thug and knew he wasn't friendly.

"S'up fools." Shawn smirked.

Squidward tapped SpongeBob's shoulder. "He might be dangerous." He whispered into SpongeBob's ear.

SpongeBob laughed. "Don't be silly. Who would drive all this way just to meet us?"

"What was that?!" Shawn stomped up to Squidward. "Talkin' crap about me?"

"No I wa-" Squidward got interrupted.

**SMACK**

Shawn slapped Squidward across the face.

**BAM**

Shawn punched Squidward on the forehead.

Squidward collapsed to the ground and became unconscious.

"Why did you hurt Squidward?" SpongeBob frowned and made a serious expression.

"I'm here to avenge a certain strangling friend that you put in prison!" Shawn palmed his fist.

SpongeBob narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made a karate pose. The worst thing he could have possibly done at that moment was freak out since it would leave him open and vulnerable.

"You wanna fight? Let's go!" Shawn raised his fists and charged towards SpongeBob.

**BAM**

SpongeBob punched Shawn in the chest.

The thug reeled in pain.

**BAM**

SpongeBob punched Shawn in the jaw.

Shawn walked back by a few steps and became extremely dizzy.

**SMACK**

SpongeBob karate chopped Shawn on the side of his body.

The thug twirled in the air.

**THUD**

Shawn fell to the ground and became unconscious.

SpongeBob crouched down and shook Squidward's body. "Squid, Squid! Are you okay?"

Squidward sat up and shook back to his senses. He saw the unconscious body of Shawn. "You knocked him out?"

"Yep." SpongeBob nodded.

"Let's search the guy's car for anything useful." Squidward stood up and walked to the boatmobile.

*gasp* "That's stealing." SpongeBob put a hand over his mouth.

"Oh, come on, SpongeBob. Don't you want to deliver that pizza?" Squidward raised his brow.

SpongeBob's eyes widened. "That's right." He quickly picked up the pizza box that was on the ground and followed Squidward.

"Obey whatever I say or else I'll eat the pizza." Squidward smirked and chuckled at what he said.

SpongeBob sweatdropped in anxiety.

A pause.

SpongeBob looked back and saw the motionless body of Shawn. "Squid, maybe we should put the guy back in his car first."

"Then you better help me." Squidward walked over to the body and picked it up. "Rggh."

SpongeBob assisted Squidward with carrying the body and the two took Shawn to the boatmobile.

Plop!

They dropped Shawn to a seat inside the vehicle.

"Stay here while I search the car." Squidward went inside the vehicle and searched for something.

"Roger." SpongeBob waited outside while he was still holding the pizza box.

A pause.

"Aha!" Squidward found a portable gas container and exited the vehicle.

**SLAM**

He slammed one of the doors of the vehicle shut.

"Umm... Squid, what're you doing?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

Squidward opened the filler spout on the side of the boatmobile and filled some gasoline into the container. "This is gonna be our ticket out of here." He smiled, closed the filler spout, and walked away. "We're gonna go back to our car and fill it with gas." He looked at his GPS and walked in the direction of the location of their boatmobile.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Squidward found their boatmobile.

Squidward opened the filler spout of the vehicle and poured all the gasoline in the container into it. He then closed the filler spout and sat inside the vehicle. The octopus put the GPS on the front end of the boatmobile.

SpongeBob sat down next to Squidward.

"I'm gonna drive this time." Squidward turned the key in the keyhole.

The boatmobile turned on, its engine was fully functional.

"Works like a charm." SpongeBob made a wide smile.

"We're really late so we better get to our destination really fast." Squidward slammed on the pedal.

**VROOOOM**

The car dashed across the road and vanished from the horizon.

S-S-S-S-S

Half an hour later...

S-S-S-S-S

**SCREEEECH**

The boatmobile parked in front of a building.

"Well, this is the place." Squidward looked at the GPS for a final time. They were in the exact location of the address on the sticky note.

"I can't wait to see the look on our customer's face!" SpongeBob got out of the vehicle and walked to the front door.

Squidward got out of the vehicle as well and followed SpongeBob.

**DING DONG**

SpongeBob rang the doorbell.

There was a ruckus going on inside the house.

"What happened?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

**CRRREEEEAK**

The customer opened the door. "Yeah?" He wasn't in a good mood, he didn't take a ransacked living room lightly.

"Congratulations, sir. Your Krabby Patty pizza is here!" SpongeBob held out the pizza box to the customer.

A gasp came from the living room.

"SpongeBob! Squid!" Patrick pushed the customer out of the way and bear hugged SpongeBob and Squidward.

The sponge and the octopus suffocated from Patrick's tight grip.

"Pat... you can... let go... now." SpongeBob managed to speak with the small amount of oxygen that was left in his lungs.

Patrick released them from the hug. "I was looking all over for you guys."

Mr. Krabs exited the house. "Nice to see ya. What took you so long?"

"SpongeBob backed up the car until it ran out of fuel. We had to find a way to get some more gas before coming here." Squidward explained what happened to Mr. Krabs.

"I see." Mr. Krabs made eye contact with SpongeBob. "What're you waiting for? Deliver the pizza."

SpongeBob nodded and handed the box to the customer.

"Wow, thanks! I've been dying for one of these. It..." The customer gave SpongeBob a funny look, something was missing. "Where's my drink?"

"What drink?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

"Uh oh." Mr. Krabs bit his lip. 'There goes my money.'

"My drink! My diet Dr. Kelp. Don't tell me you forgot my drink!?" The customer was somewhat angry. His order had included a soda.

"But, you didn't order any-" SpongeBob became worried.

"How am I supposed to eat this pizza without my drink?!" Steam rose from the customer's ears and his face became red. He handed the pizza back to SpongeBob.

"But... but..." SpongeBob's eyes moistened. He looked down at the pizza box that he was holding.

"Didn't you ever once think of the customer?! You call yourself a delivery boy?! Well, I ain't buying!" The customer grabbed the doorknob.

"Hold on there, sir. I can expla-" Mr. Krabs walked to the door before...

**SLAM**

The door was shut. All of SpongeBob and Squidward's efforts were for nothing.

**CRRREEEAK**

The customer opened the door and pushed Patrick out of the doorway.

**SLAM**

He closed the door again.

"I guess he didn't like my company." Patrick shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Gary, I think this mystery has just been solved." He took Gary off his shoulder and put him on the ground.

SpongeBob turned around and slowly walked back to the boatmobile.

"Sponge? Sponge? It's okay. Sponge?" Squidward followed SpongeBob, he was concerned for the sponge's well-being.

"Is something wrong?" Patrick walked towards SpongeBob as well.

"Meow." Gary slithered to the sponge.

SpongeBob laid the pizza box on the ground, sat near the vehicle, and sobbed. He absorbed his tears after each deep gasp.

Squidward, Gary, and Patrick surrounded SpongeBob.

"Sponge?" Squidward watched SpongeBob as he cried.

"It's alright, SpongeBob. Don't hold it in." Patrick patted SpongeBob on the shoulder.

"Meow."

Mr. Krabs walked up to Squidward with a solemn expression. "I believe it's time to go back to the Krusty Krab. Nothing's worse than losing profits."

"Hold on, Mr. Krabs." Squidward picked up the pizza box and made a determined expression. The long journey he undertook to deliver that pizza wasn't going to waste.

He walked up to the front door.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

Squidward knocked on the door.

**CRRREEEAK**

The customer opened the door, he was still in a bad mood. "Another one. Look, I told your little friend I aint paying for that!"

"Well, this one's on the house!" Squidward threw the box on the customer's face.

**SMACK**

The box hit the customer on the face. He fell to ground and became unconscious.

**SLAM**

Squidward closed the door and walked back to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob stood up while still crying. "Did he change his mind?"

"He sure did. Ate the whole thing in one bite." Squidward winked.

Mr. Krabs smirked. 'Better than nothing I guess.'

Patrick made a sincere smile.

"No drink?" SpongeBob wiped his tears and stopped sobbing.

"Nah." Squidward sat inside the boatmobile. "I'll take you to work."

SpongeBob put Gary on his head and hopped into the vehicle.

"Don't forget me." Mr. Krabs sat in the middle.

"What about me?" Patrick made an innocent face.

"Fine, fine, I'll take you and Gary back home first." Squidward gave in, he was satisfied with the sweet act of revenge that he just committed on the customer.

SpongeBob scooted over so he could leave some room for Patrick.

Patrick squeezed into the boatmobile.

"I'm kinda stuck." SpongeBob smiled nervously, he was squished between Patrick and Mr. Krabs.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'll be at home soon." Patrick laid back on his seat and relaxed.

Squidward twisted the key in the keyhole and turned on the vehicle.

**VROOOOOOOMMMM**

The boatmobile vanished from the horizon.


	12. Nature Pants

**Chapter 12: Nature Pants**

* * *

Wednesday afternoon.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was daydreaming as he cooked some Krabby Patties. His work had became monotonous and he wanted to do something else.

S-S-S-S-S

Inside his mind...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob flipped a Krabby Patty from the grill with his spatula. The patty stopped flipping in mid-air and began to levitate towards the ordering window.

"Huh?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

The Krabby Patty magically transformed into a jellyfish and flew out the ordering window. The other Krabby Patties on the grill transformed into jellyfish as well and flew out the ordering window.

"Wait for me!" SpongeBob smiled and jumped out of the ordering window. He flew in the air and became a yellow jellyfish with his face intact.

The large group of jellyfish exited the Krusty Krab and entered Jellyfish Fields.

The yellow jellyfish smiled and enjoyed his flight with his group as they began to fly across a mountain.

"**SPONGEBOB?!**" The yellow jellyfish abruptly heard Mr. Krabs' voice.

SpongeBob shook back to his senses.

S-S-S-S-S

The stove was engulfed in an inferno due to SpongeBob's negligence. The fire nearly touched the ceiling and smoke had replaced most of the air in the kitchen.

"SpongeBob! Wake up, boy! You're burning my money!" Mr. Krabs yelled at SpongeBob.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" SpongeBob screamed in terror and hid behind Mr. Krabs, he was heavily afraid of the fire. "Mr. Krabs, what do we do?"

"Here, use this!" Mr. Krabs handed SpongeBob a fire extinguisher that he had brought with him.

SpongeBob threw the fire extinguisher at the fire, he didn't know how to use it. The extinguisher landed inside the fire and made the inferno even larger. The sponge gasped and walked towards the fire. He blew on the fire as much as he could in an attempt to put it out. The fire didn't weaken from SpongeBob's blowing.

S-S-S-S-S

**SCREEEEECH**

A fire truck parked in front of the Krusty Krab. A fireman came out of the truck with a hose and ran towards the Krusty Krab.

He opened one of the double doors and entered the restaurant.

S-S-S-S-S

**SLAM**

The fireman barged the door open and entered the kitchen. He aimed the hose at the fire and sprayed it with water. Unfortunately, SpongeBob was in the way and absorbed all the water.

The fireman and Mr. Krabs' eyes bugged out.

SpongeBob enlargened to ten times his normal size. He teetered over and his back fell directly over the fire. The water inside the sponge's body put out the inferno.

"Hooray!" Mr. Krabs and the fireman spoke at the same time.

The customers in the dining room clapped.

SpongeBob slowly shrank back to his normal size. His skin was covered with ash from the fire.

The fireman exited the kitchen.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

The fireman exited the Krusty Krab and returned to the fire truck.

VRROOOOOMMMM

The fire truck drove towards the horizon.

S-S-S-S-S

"SpongeBob, come into my office." Mr. Krabs walked towards a door.

**CRRREEEAK**

The crustacean held the door open for SpongeBob.

SpongeBob got off the stove and shook the ash off his body. He walked through the doorway and entered Mr. Krabs' office.

**SLAM**

The door was closed.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs sat in his desk. "What's wrong, boy?"

SpongeBob sat on a chair. "Well, I..." He didn't know what to say.

"This is the first time ever that I've had to scrape you off of something." Mr. Krabs had a solemn expression, he took what just happened very seriously.

"Well, I've been thinking..." SpongeBob was trying to convey his thoughts into words.

"We need to get you thinking about work." Mr. Krabs folded his arms.

"No offense, Mr. Krabs, but I've been thinking about giving up my cold industrial life in favor of a more natural and free life among the jellyfish." SpongeBob finally managed to speak what was on his mind. Ever since the incident with the thugs and the pizza delivery, SpongeBob realized the harsh reality of urban life. He wanted to free himself from the constraints of society and live a more spontaneous and liberal lifestyle.

Mr. Krabs made a pirate laugh. "Ah, SpongeBob, you wouldn't last even one day in the wild."

CRRREEEEAK

Mr. Krabs opened the door to the kitchen. "Follow me."

SpongeBob walked through the doorway and entered the kitchen.

**SLAM**

The door was closed.

S-S-S-S-S

"This is your natural habitat." Mr. Krabs was going to showcase the kitchen as if it was SpongeBob's first time here. "This is your wide open range." He pointed at the stove. "These are your amber waves." The crab pointed at the greasy fryers. "And this..." He picked up the spatula that was in the sink. "Oh, this is your golden scepter, with which you rule! That's better than nasty old jellyfish, right, SpongeBob?"

**CREEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob wasn't inside the kitchen.

"SpongeBob?" Mr. Krabs looked around the kitchen for the yellow square.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAK **

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited the Krusty Krab, he was frustrated with Mr. Krabs' lack of understanding. "I can too last more than one day. I'll show him. Aw, barnacles!" He threw his employee hat to the ground. He walked towards the horizon.

**CRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

"SpongeBob, wait!" Mr. Krabs saw the sponge and called out to him.

SpongeBob ignored Mr. Krabs and continued to walk.

Mr. Krabs looked down and saw SpongeBob's hat laying on the ground. His eyes widened and he gasped.

A pause.

"Oh, he'll be back, alright. He'll be back." Mr. Krabs picked up the hat and smirked as he assured himself.

"I'LL NEVER COME BACK!" SpongeBob turned around and shook his fist at Mr. Krabs. He heard what Mr. Krabs said and lost his temper.

Mr. Krabs made a pirate laugh and re-entered the Krusty Krab. "Don't worry, Eugene. He's just going through a phase."

SpongeBob marched to his neighborhood.

S-S-S-S-S

CRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAK

Slam

SpongeBob slowly opened the front door and entered his pineapple.

"Meow?" Gary was surprised that SpongeBob came back from work early.

SpongeBob took a deep breath and hid as much emotion as possible from his face. He held back the tears and prevented his eyes from becoming moistened. The deep breath had loosened the lump in his throat and he could now speak clearly. After what seemed to be an entire day, SpongeBob looked down and made eye contact with Gary. He had finally built up enough courage to speak the words in his thoughts to the snail.

"Gary, this may seem very sudden but today is the last day you'll ever see me. I have grown tired of the pressures of modern life and very soon I'll move out of this pineapple and live with the jellyfish in Jellyfish Fields. All of my friends including you will inherit at least one of my possessions before I leave. When I'm gone, you'll inherit this house and I'm confident that you'll take care of it in my place. I also know for sure that Patrick and my other friends will feed you and look out for your well-being the moment I step into Jellyfish Fields. Gary, I hope you enjoy these last moments with me because events like this only happen once in a lifetime." SpongeBob took another deep breath and sat on the sofa with the snail.

Gary widened his eyes and nodded his head, he was absolutely speechless.

Patrick peeked through the slight opening in the front door. "Why did you came back early, SpongeBob? I thought you had work." He scratched his head.

SpongeBob moved to one side of the sofa and left some space for Patrick. "You can sit here, Pat. I have something very important to tell you."

"'kay." Patrick sat next to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob opened his mouth and spoke the tragic news to Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

It was a bit after 6:00 PM.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob had waited until Squidward came back from work so he could gather all of his friends. The sponge had phone-called Squidward and Sandy and stood outside with all of his possessions, Gary and Patrick were already there.

Squidward exited his tiki and walked up to SpongeBob, he saw the bunch of objects that was outside. "SpongeBob, what is the meaning of this?"

"To put it in a nutshell, I'm moving out of here. You won't be seeing me in Bikini Bottom ever again." SpongeBob spoke solemnly.

Patrick was sobbing and when he heard SpongeBob's words, he sobbed even louder.

Squidward made a wide and sincere smile. "My prayers have just been answered." This had to be one of the greatest moments of the octopus's life.

"Squidward, I want you to have my can opener." SpongeBob handed his can opener to Squidward.

"I thought this friendship would never pay off." Squidward skipped merrily back to his tiki, he was overjoyed after hearing the words that SpongeBob said.

"Pat, I want to give you this mayonnaise as well." SpongeBob gave Patrick his mayonnaise. His best friend already had several of his possessions.

"Are, are, are, are you sure you want to give me this mayonnaise?" Patrick struggled to speak as he sobbed. He was holding the jar of mayonnaise tightly.

"It's all yours." SpongeBob nodded. "You can also have my phone books."

Patrick took the phone books. "Th-th-these old phone books?" The sea star was still in disbelief at what was happening.

"All yours, old friend." SpongeBob opened his treasure chest and picked up a long, rectangular case with a label that had the words 'Ol' Reliable'. SpongeBob opened the case and saw an old jellyfishing net that he had used for a majority of his visits to Jellyfish Fields. "Patrick, there is one more thing I want you to have." SpongeBob closed the case and handed it to Patrick.

"Ol' Reliable?" Patrick dropped all the items that he held and put his hands on his face. He fell to his knees and bawled loudly.

Sandy walked up to SpongeBob. "Howdy, y'all. Hey SpongeBob, you having a garage sale? Was that the reason you called me for?"

"No Sandy, I'm giving up my material possessions to live in the wild with the jellyfish." SpongeBob made a wide grin and fantasized about his adventures in Jellyfish Fields.

"SpongeBob, of all the crazy schemes. Why would you want to live among the jellyfish? They're cold and mean and none too bright." Sandy found SpongeBob's plan to be too idealistic and absolutely ridiculous.

"Oh, oh, Sandy. That's exactly the response I would expect from someone who lives the sham of a life I once lived. I'm going to prove that I don't need all this stuff to be happy." SpongeBob patted Sandy on the shoulder. "Maybe someday you'll wise up and join me." He began to walk away from his friends. "Farewell, everyone." He hid behind a bush and took off his pants. "I won't be needing these." He threw the pants away and stood up, the sponge was almost completely naked except for the fact that he still wore his socks and shoes. "Buzz, buzz, buzz." SpongeBob ran in the direction of Jellyfish Fields, he vanished from the horizon.

"He took off his pants." Squidward was watching the scene unfold.

"I'll give him a week." Sandy walked back to her treedome.

"I'll give him eleven minutes." Squidward walked back to his tiki.

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

The octopus closed the front door.

"PATRICK SAD!" The sea star continued to bawl in agony.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked through the gate of Jellyfish Fields. "I'm home. I'm home! I'm home! I'm home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm home!" He made a wide smile and ran around the plain in search of a group of jellyfish. The sponge couldn't contain his joy as he found a new home in the wilderness.

**SMACK**

**THUD**

A group of jellyfish flew into SpongeBob and accidentally knocked him down.

SpongeBob immediately stood up. "Brothers and sisters, wait for me!" He followed the jellyfish by running as fast as he could.

The group of jellyfish flew into a hive that was sticking out of a large piece of coral.

"Buzz buzz. Buzz buzz. Okay, I'm here!" SpongeBob stood before the hive.

The group of jellyfish flew out of the hive and headed for elsewhere.

"Wait, I just got here. My jellyfish instincts tell me to go..." SpongeBob put a finger in his mouth and then pointed at the direction where the jellyfish went. "...that way." He ran in that direction. "Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz." He saw the group of jellyfish that he was chasing join a larger group of jellyfish.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was throwing a large party inside his tiki in celebration of SpongeBob moving out of the neighborhood. He was the only person invited and danced like there was no tomorrow. The music was put to the max volume and could be heard from outside.

Gary watched the party from the window in 'his' bedroom. There weren't many things left in the pineapple since SpongeBob gave a large chunk of it away. The snail was also watching Patrick sob quietly as he sat in front of the entrance to the pineapple. Just like Patrick, he deeply missed SpongeBob. He even shed a few tears himself.

His stomach grumbled.

Gary jumped off the windowsill and landed on the floor. He slithered out of the bedroom, went downstairs, and entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge and found a plate of Krabby Patties inside of it. SpongeBob usually left excess Krabby Patties that he cooked inside the fridge, he didn't like wasting the burgers.

A light bulb lit up in Gary's head.

Gary closed the fridge and slithered out of the room. He entered the living room and picked up the shell-phone. The snail dialed Sandy's phone number.

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy was performing an experiment with dangerous chemicals inside her laboratory.

**RING RING RING RING**

One of her telephones rang.

She halted the experiment and walked to the phone. The squirrel picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Meow meow meow meow meow meow._" Gary's electronic voice was heard.

"It's about SpongeBob? Sure thing, Gary. I'll be right over." Sandy put the phone down. She walked to her astronaut suit and began to put it on.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEEAAK**

Gary opened the front door of the pineapple. He slithered out of the opening and stood before Patrick. "Meow meow meow meow."

"Okay, Gary." Patrick stood up and entered the pineapple.

**SLAM**

Gary closed the door.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary and Patrick sat on the couch.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy entered the pineapple. "Alright, Gary. Tell us."

Gary slithered out of the couch and stood between Patrick and Sandy. "Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow." He took out two pieces of paper and a pencil. The snail wrote something into each paper and handed one to Patrick and Sandy.

"I hope this brings SpongeBob back." Patrick was slightly hopeful even though he knew that the chances of SpongeBob's return were slim.

"Wow, Gary. I'm impressed. I never knew such a clever plan as this would've been made by a snail." Sandy read the paper that she was holding and smiled.

Gary smiled. "Meow meow." He slithered into the kitchen.

A pause.

The snail came back with a picnic basket that had the Krabby Patties inside of it and a picnic blanket.

"Let's go." Sandy turned around and exited the pineapple.

Patrick picked up Gary and left the pineapple as well.

S-S-S-S-S

Several more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob saw the large group of jellyfish quickly eating a bunch of kelp. He became curious and walked towards another bunch of kelp. The sponge ripped out a piece and tried to eat it. He became disgusted by the taste of the kelp and spat it out. "This is the life." It would take a while before he got used to his new habitat. He saw the group of jellyfish floating in the middle of Jellyfish Fields and walked towards them. He eventually walked into the middle of the group. "Hey everybody, buzz buzz. Buzz to you. Buzz, buzz, nice current today. Hey, what's the buzz?" He greeted several jellyfish. The sponge held his hand out towards a jellyfish that was in front of him. "Hello, I'm Jellybob, and you are?"

The jellyfish mimicked SpongeBob's behavior by sticking out its stinger towards SpongeBob's hand.

**ZZAAP**

The jellyfish unintentionally stung SpongeBob's hand and flew away.

"Uhh... nice to meet you." SpongeBob smiled nervously. His stung hand became slightly swollen.

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy, Patrick, and Gary settled around a certain location in Jellyfish Fields.

Sandy put the picnic blanket on the ground and put the basket on the blanket.

Gary slithered into the basket and took a Krabby Patty, he gave the burger to Sandy.

The aroma of the Krabby Patries wafted in the air.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob smelled the aroma and his mouth watered. He followed the smell until he stood before a cliff. He saw Patrick, Sandy, and Gary having a picnic with some Krabby Patties.

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy read the paper that she held. "Here, Patrick, have a Krabby Patty." She dug into the basket and took out a Krabby Patty, she held it out to Patrick. Sandy saw SpongeBob standing on top of a cliff from the corner of her eye. "There he is, Patrick. Say your line!" She whispered loudly into Patrick's ear.

Patrick read the paper that he was shakily holding. "Why thank you, Sandy, I would love one. Take patty." He took the Krabby Patty from Sandy's hand. "Too bad SpongeBob isn't here. These are his favorites. I sure wish he'd come home. Take bite." Patrick opened his mouth and was about to eat the burger before he saw SpongeBob. At that moment, he could no longer control his emotions. The sea star threw the paper and the Krabby Patty to the ground and stood up. "I CAN'T DO IT! SPONGEBOB! **COME BACK!**" Patrick desperately cried out to SpongeBob for his return.

"Patrick, I'm not coming home." SpongeBob shook his head, he was resolute with his decision.

"I miss you! Sandy misses you! Even Squidward misses you!" Patrick was on his knees.

"I'm happy here. This is my home now." SpongeBob smiled, turned around, and walked away.

"**NOOOOO! SPOONGEBOOOOB! **Patrick was being dragged away by Gary and Sandy, the two knew that they had failed their mission and it was too late.

"C'mon, Pat... It's time... to go home." Sandy struggled to speak as she and Gary dragged Patrick by the feet.

"GET. OFF. OF. **MEEE!**" Patrick pushed Sandy and Gary out of the way,

**T-THUD **

Sandy and Gary fell to the ground.

Patrick took out a rectangular case and opened it. He took out Ol' Reliable and took out a jar that was in his pants. He snatched Gary's pencil that laid on the ground and wrote 'SpongeBob - Friend' on the blank label of the jar. He put the rectangular case and the jar away. The sea star turned to the large cliff and took a deep breath. "Let's do this." He ran to the cliff and climbed it.

Sandy stood up. "Is Patrick out of his mind?! We gotta catch up with him!" She grabbed Gary and ran after Patrick. The squirrel reached the cliff and nimbly climbed it.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob returned to the group of jellyfish. He wiggled his arms and legs as if he was a jellyfish. "Hey everybody! I'm back! I think I'm getting the hang of this."

The jellyfish saw something and flew away.

"SpongeBob, watch out!" The faint scream of Sandy was heard.

"Huh?" SpongeBob looked at his surroundings.

A jellyfishing net swung behind SpongeBob and tripped him.

**THUD**

SpongeBob fell to the ground. He stood up and turned around.

A menacing Patrick huffed and puffed before SpongeBob with Ol' Reliable. He was giving SpongeBob a serial killer stare.

"Patrick! What are you doing?" SpongeBob's eyes bugged out.

"If I can't have you as a friend, I'm going to make you a trophy! I even picked out this nice jar for you!" Patrick took out the jar and showed it to SpongeBob.

"Patrick! Go home! I'm a jellyfish now!' SpongeBob gulped and sweated in anxiety. He realized that Patrick was a psychopath by this point. He slowly backed away from the sea star.

Patrick put the jar away and swung the net at SpongeBob.

SpongeBob dove out of the way and ran for his life.

Patrick made a battle cry and chased SpongeBob.

SpongeBob saw a wild snail with a large shell and hid behind it. He crossed his fingers as he waited for Patrick to go away.

A pause.

"Meow." The snail slithered out of the way and revealed SpongeBob's location.

"I can see you there!" Patrick was running directly towards SpongeBob.

SpongeBob gasped and dove to a bush that was nearby. He tried to conceal himself as best as he could.

"I still see you!" Patrick raised his net so he could swing it down.

SpongeBob sprinted to a large rock and hid behind it.

"You're going to look good on my mantel!" Patrick ran around the rock and swung his net at SpongeBob.

SpongeBob dodged the swing and ran to a n-shaped rock. He sat underneath it and looked at his surroundings. He heard some footsteps.

A pause.

"Friends forever, SpongeBob! I got you now!" Patrick was on top of the rock, he had climbed it. He jumped down and swung his net.

"Patrick! No!" SpongeBob dove away from the rock and continued to run away from Patrick. He saw the jellyfish hive from before and ran towards it. He made a mighty leap and squeezed into the hive.

Patrick ran to the hive and lifted his net so he could knock it down.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Sandy caught up with Patrick and yelled at him.

"Meow." Gary had slithered away to a safe distance and watched the conflict unfold.

Patrick slowly turned around and glared at Sandy. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way." He slowly spoke while gritting his teeth.

"I can't do that, Pat! You're going to hurt SpongeBob!" Sandy folded her arms and walked somewhat closer to Patrick.

Patrick narrowed his eyes. "Very well, Ms. Cheeks. It has come to this." He put Ol' Reliable away and took out his blue karate gear. He put the gear on and made a karate pose. "In order to get my friend back, I'll have to eliminate anybody who interferes with my plan." Patrick's intelligence had suddenly increased and he was speaking what he considered to be 'big' words so he could sound more threatening.

"You're gonna fight your own sensei? Challenge accepted." Sandy took out her green karate gloves and put them on. "Pat, you've gone insane. I'm gonna have to knock some sense into you." The squirrel made a karate pose.

Patrick didn't even smirk at Sandy's comment. He continued his serious demeanor, the sea star found bringing his friend back to be a dire situation. "Let's fight!" He charged towards Sandy.

Sandy charged towards Patrick.

The two were going to crash into each other.

**BAM**

Sandy halted during her charge and punched Patrick in the stomach.

Patrick reeled in pain and

**THUD**

fell to the ground. He soon stood up as if he wasn't injured.

**SHOOP**

Sandy karate chopped Patrick on one of his shoulders at an ultra-fast speed, the starfish's reaction time was too slow. The sea star flipped in the air and landed on the ground with a **THUD.**

Patrick shakily stood up and became pissed off. "Why did you do that?!"

"What did you expect, Pat? You're fighting a karate master." Sandy smirked, she showed great pride in her talent. The squirrel unintentionally allowed herself to become vulnerable.

"RAAAAHHH!" Patrick punched and kicked Sandy several times, the squirrel had given him enough time to do so.

**BAM**

**SMACK**

**SLAM**

**SMACK**

**SHOOP**

**BAM**

**SLAM**

Sandy received every single hit and collapsed to the ground.

**THUD**

**THUD**

**THUD**

Sandy hit the ground several times before she stood up and shook back to her senses. 'Yikes. Less talking and more fighting.' She thought to herself.

Patrick cartwheeled towards Sandy.

Sandy grabbed Patrick and lifted him to the air, she threw him to a large piece of coral.

**CRRRAASSSSH**

Patrick crashed into the coral and broke the piece of coral into several pieces.

A pause.

Patrick dug himself out of the rubble,

The group of jellyfish from before had gathered near Patrick and Sandy, they watched the on-going fight.

Patrick picked up a few large pieces of coral and threw them at Sandy.

**CRAAAASSSSH**

**CRAAASSSH**

**CRRRRAAAASSSH**

Sandy dove out of the way and dodged the thrown pieces of coral. A large amount of coral pebbles flew in the air as the large pieces landed on the ground. The squirrel ran towards the sea star.

Patrick jumped and did a mid-air cartwheel.

Sandy grabbed one of Patrick's legs.

**SLAM**

Sandy threw Patrick to the ground.

Patrick stood up and made a fierce uppercut.

**BAM**

Sandy flew in the air and came back down with a kick.

**SLAM**

Patrick fell to the ground once again and tumbled across the grass. He flipped himself back up like an acrobat and charged his head towards Sandy like a bull.

**BAM**

Patrick's head hit Sandy.

**SCREEEECH**

Sandy didn't fell to the floor, her feet were glued to the ground. She punched Patrick on the forehead.

Patrick sailed in the air and landed with a **THUD**. He was stunned for a moment but soon stood up. "I won't go down so easily."

"Hi-yah!" Sandy karate chopped Patrick on the side of his body.

Patrick twirled in the air and

**THUD**

landed on the ground. He stood up and leaped to the air.

Patrick's shadow enveloped Sandy. The sea star was falling directly above Sandy.

Sandy didn't have enough time to react.

**CRASH**

Patrick left a star-shaped crater on the ground. He got off the crater and saw the still body of Sandy inside the crater. "I think this fight is just about over." Patrick smiled.

Sandy abruptly stood up and heavily surprised Patrick.

**BAM**

Sandy uppercutted Patrick in the jaw.

Patrick flew a long distance across the fields and crashed to the ground with a very loud **THUD**. He became unconscious.

Sandy walked up to Patrick and picked him up.

"Meow." Gary slithered up to Sandy.

"Well, that settles it. Let's go home and leave SpongeBob alone." Sandy walked away.

Gary followed the squirrel.

The two left Jellyfish Fields.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob had watched the entire fight from the hole in the hive. "Well, that's over. Back to jellyfish matters."

Plop!

A drop of jelly landed on SpongeBob's nose. The sponge stuck his finger into the jelly and tasted it. "Mmm, jelly." He took some jelly from the ceiling in the hive and ate it.

SpongeBob looked through the hole and saw the group of jellyfish flying towards the hive. "Ah, my jellyfish brethren are returning."

The jellyfish squeezed into the hive, SpongeBob took up most of the space inside.

"Greetings, comrades!" SpongeBob cheerfully greeted the jellyfish.

"**BUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZ!**" The jellyfish became angry.

**ZZZZAAAAAP**

**ZZZAAAP**

**ZZZZAAAAAAP**

**ZZAP**

**ZAP**

**ZZZZAAAAAP**

**ZZZZZAAAAAAP**

**ZZZAAAAP**

**ZZAAAP**

The jellyfish ruthlessly stung SpongeBob with numerous zaps of blue electricity.

"**AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!**" SpongeBob yelled in agony and dove out of the hive.

**THUD**

The sponge landed on the ground and ran as if his life depended on it, he had several red scars from the stings.

The jellyfish chased him and continued to sting him.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was a late evening.

SpongeBob ran to a cave and hid inside there. He took a few deep breaths for several seconds. He had been chased by the jellyfish for a very long time.

The sponge no longer heard the buzzing of the jellyfish.

"Phew." SpongeBob wiped some sweat off his brow. He was exhausted from all that running and became sleepy. "Being a jellyfish sure is fun. Buzz." He ripped out a bush of grass that was sticking out of the ground. He wrapped the grass around him and used it as a blanket."Buzz." He pushed a nearby rock towards him, laid his head down on it, and used it as a pillow. "Buzz." The sponge became uncomfortable and pushed the rock away.

A cold breeze blew into the cave.

SpongeBob shivered from the moderate cold. The grass blanket scrunched up and made him shiver even more. The sponge pushed the blanket back down with his feet to maintain his warmth.

A pause. SpongeBob's eyes were peeled open, he found falling asleep to be greatly difficult. The cold breeze coming from outside and an abrupt, itchy sensation from under his blanket kept him awake. "Hey! Eww, I'm itchy! Itchy, why am I so itchy!?" The sponge removed the blanket to find out what was wrong. There were nine poison sea urchins biting his skin, they had inhabited the bush of grass that SpongeBob ripped off. "AAAAHHHHH! Poison sea urchins!" SpongeBob stood up and tried to scratch the urchins off his body. He ran out of the cave and managed to get eight of the urchins to stop biting and let go. Only one remained and that sea urchin halted its biting and went into one of SpongeBob's holes, it was waiting for another host to bite on.

"Ow, ow, oh, itches. Ow, ow, itches." SpongeBob crawled on the ground to stop the itching. After a while, he stood up and wandered aimlessly through Jellyfish Fields for a shelter. The cave definitely wasn't a suitable place for sleeping.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob exited Jellyfish Fields and walked towards the Krusty Krab, he still didn't find a place to sleep in. He continued to say "Buzz." as he walked. He halted before the front doors of the restaurant and stared through the glass. There was a plate full of extra Krabby Patties on a table. "Krabby Patties." It was a bitter reminder of SpongeBob's former life, he remembered the day he got hired when he saved Mr. Krabs and Squidward from the anchovies and the two weeks he had worked in the restaurant. The sponge walked away from the Krusty Krab and headed for Sandy's treedome. He eventually stopped before the treedome and stared at it, Sandy was currently sleeping inside her tree. "Sandy." The sponge remembered him and Patrick having tea with Sandy in that treedome. He also remembered how he first met Sandy and the fight with the clams that followed afterward. SpongeBob then walked to his neighborhood and headed for his pineapple. "What have I done? I had a great life and friends, and I gave all of that up."

**CRRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

He entered the pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary was watching TV. He looked at SpongeBob and his eyes bugged out.

SpongeBob quietly went to the closet and put on his squarepants, he was trying to find the right words to say to Gary.

A light bulb lit up in Gary's head. He smiled. "Meow meow."

"You've got a good idea? What is it?" SpongeBob made a wide smile.

Gary slithered up to SpongeBob and pushed him into the closet. He closed the door and locked it.

"Gary, why did you do that?" SpongeBob had a puzzled look.

"Meow meow meow." Gary slithered to the shell phone.

"I'll wait." SpongeBob sat down and waited for Gary to open the door.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob heard some strange noises. "What's going on?"

**CRREEAK**

The door became unlocked and opened. SpongeBob exited the closet.

"Welcome home, SpongeBob!" Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Squidward, Gary, and Patrick greeted SpongeBob. There were party decorations in the living room, Patrick and Squidward were wearing party hats.

"You guys are the best! I made a huge mistake. Please forgive me!" SpongeBob felt remorse for his actions.

"Ah, quit your blubbering and have a Krabby Patty." Mr. Krabs handed SpongeBob a Krabby Patty.

"Don't mind if I do." SpongeBob ate the Krabby Patty.

Mr. Krabs placed SpongeBob's employee hat on the sponge's head. "And I'll see you at work first thing tomorrow morning." The crustacean winked.

"Aye, aye, captain!" SpongeBob made a military salute and smiled.

Patrick walked over and bear-hugged SpongeBob.

SpongeBob tried his best to hug the sea star back.

Everybody else except for Squidward hugged SpongeBob.

"Can we please stop this?" Squidward was being squished as they hugged the sponge.

The sea urchin hopped off of SpongeBob and bit everybody's skin except for Sandy's, it then exited the pineapple without anyone noticing.

The others including Patrick stopped hugging SpongeBob.

"Patrick itchy!" Patrick felt an itchy sensation and scratched himself.

Everybody except for SpongeBob and Sandy scratched themselves.

"Uh-oh. I gotta get my anti-itch cream!" SpongeBob left the living room and ran to the bathroom.

Sandy scratched her head. "Well that's strange. There is no way I could've brought fleas in here."


	13. Valentine's Day

**Chapter 13: Valentine's Day**

* * *

Early Thursday morning.

S-S-S-S-S

**HOOOOONNNNNNK**

The foghorn went off. It was 6:30 AM.

CLICK

SpongeBob pressed the foghorn's button and hopped off his bed, he was in an especially cheerful mood. He walked to his calendar and smiled widely as he saw today's date, it was February 14th which was Valentine's Day. The sponge walked to the treasure chest, dug his hands beneath it, and retrieved the key. He unlocked the treasure chest and took out several paper-mâché hearts, a few bouquets, a few heart cases, and other things that can be used as gifts; he had prepared for the holiday in advance.

Gary slowly opened his eyes and woke up. "Meow."

"Here you go, Gary. Happy Valentine's day." SpongeBob gave Gary a heart.

"Meow?" Gary slithered on top of the heart. It felt more comfortable than the newspapers and that made the snail more drowsy. Gary closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

CRREEAK

Slam

SpongeBob quietly opened the door and exited the bedroom so he didn't disturb Gary. The sponge went downstairs and eventually entered the living room. He walked towards the front door.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited his pineapple and breathed in the fresh air. "Happy Valentine's Day, Bikini Bottom!" He shouted joyfully and skipped merrily across the neighborhood. The sponge heard some loud construction noises from Patrick's rock, the sea star had woken up earlier than SpongeBob and was working on something. 'Better leave Pat alone for now. I'll save the plan for later.' The sponge skipped towards Squidward's tiki.

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

Squidward exited his tiki, he woke up from SpongeBob's yelling and the construction noises from the nearby rock. He wanted to find out what that ruckus was all about.

SpongeBob abruptly handed Squidward a heart and skipped to elsewhere.

Squidward looked down at the heart he was holding. "Ugh. It's that unaesthetic excuse for a holiday." He muttered to himself and ripped it to pieces.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was skipping throughout Bikini Bottom. Mrs. Puff was driving nearby as he pranced. The sponge decided to toss a paper-mâché heart to his teacher.

The heart landed on the steering wheel of Mrs. Puff's boatmobile and her eyes bugged out.

**SCREEEECH**

Mrs. Puff hit the brakes and prevented an accident from occurring. The vehicle was only a few inches away from crashing into a fire hydrant.

S-S-S-S-S

Several more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob passed by Mr. Krabs' anchor. The crustacean was throwing a trash bag into a trash can when SpongeBob skipped by and handed him a heart case.

"What's this?" Mr. Krabs dropped the trash bag and opened the heart case, inside was a dollar hill. He took it out and made a pirate laugh.

S-S-S-S-S

Several more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**C-CRRREEEAK**

**S-SLAM**

Plankton and Karen exited the Chum Bucket, the computer was in her mobile form which consisted of a smaller computer, a metal pole; and wheels to traverse the ground. It was a rare event for the two to go out since their relationship was rocky, Plankton spent too much time making plans to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. It was holidays such as this that the two would leave the Chum Bucket for purposes that weren't sinister or obligatory.

SpongeBob pranced near the couple and gave Plankton a tiny heart while giving Karen a normal-sized heart.

Plankton looked at the tiny heart and his eye widened in total disbelief. This was one of the few times in his life that someone other than Karen had given him a gift.

Karen chuckled at Plankton's reaction.

"What?" Plankton looked up at Karen and raised his brow, he became slightly annoyed.

"Why have you never thought of this before? I thought you were a genius." Karen's A.I. carried a bitter sense of humor.

"Uhh..." Plankton was still shocked from what just happened to him.

S-S-S-S-S

Ten minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stopped before the front door of Sandy's treedome. He rang the doorbell.

"_Gasp! Hold on a sec!_" Sandy's electronic voice was heard, SpongeBob came earlier than the squirrel expected and she wasn't ready.

A pause. SpongeBob patiently waited.

**CRREEEEAK**

Sandy opened the front door. "Happy Valentine's Day, SpongeBob. I'm nuts for you." She handed SpongeBob a large acorn with an arrow sticking through it.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Sandy." SpongeBob handed her a heart case.

Sandy opened the heart case and saw chocolates in it. "Chocolates? For me?" She made a wide smile.

SpongeBob nodded.

"Why, thank you, SpongeBob." Sandy put the heart case away.

SpongeBob smirked and blushed somewhat.

An awkward pause.

"I'm also bubbles for you, Sandy." SpongeBob broke the silence and took out a bubble wand and a soap bottle full of chocolate syrup. He put the wand into the bottle, inhaled, and blew into the wand. A heart-shaped chocolate bubble flew in the air.

Sandy loosened the pressure in her astronaut suit and allowed the chocolate bubble to squeeze through her airtight glass bubble. She ate the chocolate bubble. "Mmm, mighty tasty. By the way, Patrick's gonna love that little surprise you made for him." Sandy was aware of what SpongeBob had planned for today, the sponge talked to her about it a few days ago.

"Want me to go through the plan again just to make sure?" SpongeBob took the plan very seriously, he created this Valentine's Day plan a week ago and had been preparing for it ever since. Sandy was a crucial part of this plan and he didn't want her to make a mistake once the plan is executed.

"Sure." Sandy nodded.

"Okay." SpongeBob blew into the wand. A chocolate bubble version of a carnival squeezed out of the wand and floated in the air. "Step one, Patrick and I get to the Valentine's Day carnival." The sponge blew into the wand once again and a chocolate bubble version of SpongeBob and Patrick came out of the wand. The two bubbles flew to the carnival bubble and hopped on to it. "Step two, I position Patrick and myself on top of the Ferris wheel." SpongeBob lightly blew at the two bubble versions of the sponge and the sea star, the two bubbles were pushed to a Ferris wheel. The sponge blew at the Ferris wheel and the two bubbles rode the wheel until they got to the top. "Step three, you will arrive at the designated checkpoint for maximum visual contact." SpongeBob blew into the wand and a small chocolate air balloon came out. The air balloon flew over the minature carnival. "Step four, Patrick is thrilled. Mission accomplished." SpongeBob popped all the bubbles. He took out a basket for some sort of hot air balloon and blew a very large chocolate bubble out of his wand. The sponge tied the bubble with the strings of the basket, it became a hot air balloon. He gave Sandy a walkie-talkie."Use that so we can keep in contact.

"Roger." Sandy made a military salute and entered the hot air balloon. The balloon flew in the air and the squirrel aimed it towards the carnival.

SpongeBob walked in the direction of his neighborhood.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

Patrick exited his rock, he was holding a stone heart and was wearing a white shirt with a heart in the center of it. Early in the morning, he had taken a nearby rock and pounded and carved it until it was in the shape of a heart. He was going to give this to SpongeBob as a gift. The sea star looked down at the heart, he wanted to make sure it was completely polished.

"Hi, Patrick." SpongeBob's voice was heard.

"Hello?" Patrick thought that the heart was talking to him, he didn't notice that SpongeBob had walked up to him.

"Patrick, it's me, SpongeBob." SpongeBob waved his hand, he wanted to move Patrick's attention away from the stone heart.

"SpongeBob, what are you doing in there?!" Patrick's eyes bugged out and he began to panic.

"Patrick!" SpongeBob waved both of his hands, he was not getting Patrick's attention.

"Oh my gosh! Sp-SpongeBob is stuck inside this rock!"' Patrick quickly came to a conclusion. "Ahh! Hold on buddy, I'll get you out!" He threw the stone heart to the ground in a desperate attempt to 'free' SpongeBob from the rock.

"Patrick..." SpongeBob snapped his fingers.

"SpongeBob!" Patrick hugged the stone heart and began to sob, he thought that SpongeBob was permanently trapped inside the rock.

"Patrick, I'm right behind you!" SpongeBob tapped Patrick's shoulder.

"There you are." Patrick turned around and saw SpongeBob. He stopped crying and smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day! Here's your present." The sea star handed SpongeBob the stone heart.

"And I have a present for you!" SpongeBob smirked and tried to suppress his giggling.

"You do?" Patrick scratched his head and became curious.

"It's the greatest... the bestest... the most fantabulous... present ever!" SpongeBob tried to make Patrick hyped up.

Patrick was jumping up and down in excitement and joy, he was dying to know what gift SpongeBob had for him.

"But you can't have it yet." SpongeBob didn't want to reveal the gift right away.

"Huh? Why not?" Patrick became disappointed.

"Because it's not ready yet." SpongeBob was still smirking.

"Is it ready now?" Patrick became impatient.

"Not yet." SpongeBob shook his head, he wanted to make the gift a surprise.

"How about now?" Patrick had an intense desire to know what the gift was.

"Do you want to ruin the surprise?" SpongeBob made a wide smile.

"Yes!" Patrick jumped up and down in excitement once again.

"Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh!" SpongeBob refused to reveal the secret.

"Oh, come on, please!" Patrick fell to his knees and begged.

"Hmmm... nope, sorry." SpongeBob was determined to not give in to Patrick's demand.

"You gotta tell me!" Patrick fell to the ground and grabbed SpongeBob's legs.

"No can do!" SpongeBob laughed. "You'll just have to wait!" He turned to the direction of the carnival and walked away while dragging Patrick along who was still holding on to his legs.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was right in front of a Valentine's Day-themed carnival that was on a boardwalk near a shore in Goo Lagoon. There was a Ferris wheel and other rides inside the carnival. Many people were having a fun time and were enjoying the rides.

Patrick held on to SpongeBob's legs tightly. "Please. Oh please... please-please-please-please. Tell me-tell me-tell me. Please?!" He was desperate to know what was his gift.

"Okay, Patrick, here we are." SpongeBob made a wide smile and shook Patrick off his legs.

Patrick stood up and gasped as he saw the carnival. "You got me a carnival? Mine! All mine, mine, mine, mine." He ran towards the carnival.

SpongeBob chased Patrick. "Pat, wait!"

S-S-S-S-S

Larry saw Patrick running towards the carnival and scratched his head. "Where's SpongeBob?" He expected the sea star to be with his best friend.

Patrick stood in the middle of the carnival. "ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY OUT! THIS IS MY CARNIVAL!" He screamed as loud as possible so everybody heard him.

Some people widened their eyes at Patrick while others gave him funny looks.

SpongeBob walked up to Patrick and tapped his shoulder.

"What?" Patrick turned around and faced SpongeBob.

"It's not the carnival." SpongeBob spoke quietly.

"Oh." Patrick felt his own stupidity.

SpongeBob took out a quarter from his pocket. "Here, why don't you take this quarter and-"

Patrick immediately snatched the quarter. "Oh my gosh, a quarter! I've always wanted a quarter!" He smiled and jumped up and down in joy, he thought that the quarter was the gift.

"It's not the quarter." SpongeBob shook his head.

"Oh." Patrick scratched his head.

"Now take that quarter and buy some cotton candy." SpongeBob smiled and pointed towards elsewhere.

Patrick walked away in search of cotton candy.

"Phew." SpongeBob wiped some sweat off his brow, he had successfully distracted Patrick and he could now wait for the hot air balloon to arrive at the carnival.

Larry walked up to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob saw Larry from the corner of his eye and immediately turned to face him, he surprised the lobster somewhat. "Hey, Larry, can you keep an eye on Pat? He might become a bit wild at times if you know what I mean." He smiled nervously.

"Uhh..." Larry forgot what he was going to say since SpongeBob had done something unexpected. "'kay." He followed Patrick and monitored the starfish's behavior, the lobster was the lifeguard after all.

"Cotton candy! I can't believe it!" Patrick pointed at the cotton candy seller who was wearing a cotton candy suit, the sea star thought the seller was the actual cotton candy.

"Huh?" The seller raised his brow at Patrick.

"Cotton candy!" Patrick ran towards the seller.

"Hey, get away! Hey!" The seller ran away from Patrick, he was being chased.

Someone grabbed Patrick's shoulder and lifted him up. The sea star's shoulder was turned around and he faced Larry. "Oh, hi Larry." Patrick smiled.

"He's not made out of cotton candy. What were you thinking?" Larry was in near disbelief at what Patrick did, he had severely underestimated the sea star.

"Sorry." Patrick looked at the floor and felt remorseful.

Plop!

Larry dropped Patrick to the floor.

S-S-S-S-S

"_Sandy to SpongeBob_." Sandy's electronic voice was heard.

SpongeBob took out his walkie-talkie.

"_Sandy to SpongeBob. Come in, SpongeBob._" Sandy was trying to know if SpongeBob was at the carnival.

"Ten four, Sandy. SpongeBob's here." SpongeBob spoke into the walkie-talkie.

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy was standing inside the basket of the hot-air balloon. The balloon was moderately high in the sky and was flying towards the carnival. The squirrel had a decent view of the carnival from her location. "I got a visual on the carnival. You want me to bring her in?" She spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"_Ohh, not yet, Sandy. Patrick's still trying to guess what his Valentine is._" SpongeBob's electronic voice was heard, he wanted to have a fun time with Patrick and wanted to save the best for last.

Sandy chuckled. "You are such a kidder, Sandy out." She spoke into the walkie-talkie and put it away. "That SpongeBob..." She chuckled some more.

A group of scallops flew away from their original path of flight and headed towards the balloon. The scallops were very hungry.

Sandy saw the scallops and her eyes bugged out, she recognized what they were . "Scallops... chocolate-eating scallops!" She took out a whip that was in her suit, it was situations such as these that those things came in handy. "I can't have them eat the balloon!"

S-S-S-S-S

"So if it's not cotton candy then what is it? I can't take it!" Patrick's curiousity was killing him. He and SpongeBob were walking across the carnival.

"You'll have to guess!"' SpongeBob smirked, he was enjoying Patrick's futile search for the gift.

"This tent?" Patrick pointed at a nearby tent.

"No." SpongeBob shook his head.

"This guy?" Patrick lifted up a young man that was waiting in line for something. The man's eyes bugged out.

"Nope." SpongeBob suppressed his giggling to the best of his ability.

Plop!

Patrick dropped the man and ran to another nearby tent.

SpongeBob followed.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were looking through a microscope that was pointed at the ground. They saw micro-organisms swimming across the glass hole in the microscope.

"This paramecium?" Patrick was willing to do anything at this point to find out what the gift was.

"Nope." SpongeBob couldn't suppress laughter and laughed.

Patrick giggled. "Heh, you're a sly one. I can't find it here in the carnival..." He exited the tent.

SpongeBob exited the tent as well.

S-S-S-S-S

"Because it's on top of that cliff!" Patrick pointed at a large cliff and ran towards it.

"HEY!" Larry chased Patrick, he was still watching the sea star. The lobster picked up Patrick and walked towards SpongeBob.

Plop!

Larry dropped Patrick in front of SpongeBob.

"I guess it's not there either." Patrick scratched his head.

SpongeBob took out his walkie-talkie. "SpongeBob to Sandy, you can bring it in now." He spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"Sandy's gonna bring the gift?!" Patrick became excited again, he had heard SpongeBob's conversation.

SpongeBob silently nodded.

"Yippee!" Patrick cartwheeled around SpongeBob, he couldn't contain his excitement.

S-S-S-S-S

"Uhh, SpongeBob, we got ourselves a little problem. I got a pack of chocolate-eating scallops trying to rustle the balloon!" Sandy struggled to speak into the walkie-talkie as she hit the scallops with the whip. The scallops were trying to bite the chocolate balloon. "Hi-yah!" She made a mighty swing with the whip. "Get away, you sweet-toothed varmints! Hi-yah!" The squirrel made another swing. "I'm going to be a little late!" She spoke into the walkie-talkie.

S-S-S-S-S

"Late? But what about-" SpongeBob became worried.

"_Hi-yah! Take him up to the Ferris wheel and I'll meet you there! Sandy out!_" Sandy's electronic voice was heard and then the squirrel put the walkie-talkie away.

"If Patrick doesn't get his valentine..." SpongeBob's eyes bugged out and he gulped. He became anxious at the thought of Patrick's reaction when he couldn't get his gift.

"Where is she gonna bring it?" Patrick asked.

"Uhh... Patrick, it's on the Ferris-" SpongeBob was revealing the location of the gift when he got interrupted.

"Ferris wheel!" Patrick smiled and grabbed SpongeBob's arm. The two ran towards the Ferris wheel. They entered one of the empty cars of the Ferris wheel and sat down in the seats. The car slowly went to the top with the other cars.

"I'm ready for the greatest Valentine's present in the whole world now, SpongeBob." Patrick smiled widely and looked at SpongeBob, he was expecting the sponge to give him the gift.

SpongeBob was staring into space and was sweating nervously. "Well, this is where you're gonna get it... I hope. Just keep looking out there, pal." He pointed at elsewhere so he could distract Patrick again.

"Okee-dokee." Patrick looked at his surroundings, he became distracted.

SpongeBob took out his walkie-talkie. "SpongeBob to Sandy, SpongeBob to Sandy, come in, Sandy!" He spoke into the walkie-talkie.

S-S-S-S-S

"Sandy to SpongeBob, I got my ox in a ditch here! I'm way off course! The scallops are eating the balloon! They're everywhere!" Sandy spoke into her walkie-talkie as she furiously whipped the scallops. The scallops' attempts to eat the chocolate balloon were becoming more and more desperate.

**POP**!

One scallop had successfully bitten the balloon and left a hole. Chocolate syrup came out of the hole and the scallops opened their mouths so they could eat some of the syrup. Once their craving for chocolate was satisfied, they flew away to other distant places.

The balloon was deflating and was falling to the ground at a rapid speed.

"Aw, shoot! We're going down, SpongeBob! Switch to plan B!" Sandy panicked as she spoke into the walkie-talkie, she was preparing for the eventual crash.

S-S-S-S-S

"No, no, B, Sandy! No, B!" SpongeBob began to panic as well, he spoke into the walkie-talkie for a final time and put it away. "Uh, Patrick, you know how sometimes you plan something special and things just don't work out?" He smiled anxiously.

"No." Patrick shook his head.

A pause.

"Holy mackerel! Is it hot up here or what?" Patrick was sweating and took off his shirt, the morning on that day was somewhat warm. He then continuously and rapidly stomped on the car with his feet, he was heavily anticipating his receiving of his gift. The Ferris wheel began to shake from Patrick's stomping, it was a glimpse of what would happen if the gift failed to arrive.

"Patrick, here it is!" SpongeBob abruptly held out his hand, he made a desperate attempt to calm Patrick down.

"What's that?" Patrick gave a puzzled look at SpongeBob's hand.

"It's a handshake... a friendly handshake." SpongeBob bit his lip and sweated even more, his body was shaking from severe anxiety.

"A handshake? That's the big gift? You got me a handshake? Where's Sandy? Didn't you say that she was gonna bring the gift?" Patrick had numerous questions in his mind.

"Sandy got into a minor accident so she couldn't come. At the end of the day, this was the gift we wanted to give you. Sooo... happy Valentine's Day!" SpongeBob tried his best to cover up Sandy's absence.

Patrick shook SpongeBob's hand and made a grumpy face, all that excitement was for nothing.

"Phew." SpongeBob wiped a lot of sweat off his brow.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The two friends were sitting on a bench.

Patrick had the same grumpy face ever since he shook hands with SpongeBob. "I've been thinking. At first a handshake doesn't seem like much, but really it's the thought that counts…" He spoke his thoughts out loud.

A young woman holding a heart-shaped box full of chocolates walked up to SpongeBob. "Hey SpongeBob, I just wanted to thank you for this box of chocolates."

"Uh, no problem, Fran." SpongeBob smiled.

Fran walked away.

"And even though I was expecting more..." Patrick continued to speak until a young man holding a bouquet of roses walked up to SpongeBob.

"Thanks for the roses, SpongeBob. Happy Valentine's Day." The man spoke.

"You too, Dave." SpongeBob wasn't able to pay attention to what Patrick was saying.

Dave walked away.

"And not that it matters that we've been friends for so long..." Patrick was starting to become annoyed.

A woman that was holding a brand-new bike walked up to SpongeBob. "Hey SpongeBob, thanks for the bike!" She turned to face Patrick. "Can you believe this guy? I just met him this morning!" The woman then walked away.

Patrick gave SpongeBob a soul-piercing glare.

SpongeBob gulped and sweated nervously.

"So as I was saying..." Patrick stopped glaring and spoke once again.

A young man holding a paper-mâché heart walked up to SpongeBob and Patrick. "Excuse me. Do you guys have the time?"

Patrick's face became red and steam came out of his ears. He abruptly stood up from the bench. "**DAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH**!" He yelled in frustration. "Patrick needs love too!" He hit his stomach with his hands like a gorilla and began his rampage. The sea star ran towards a balloon salesman and snatched the man's scissors. He cut all the balloon strings and the balloons flew in the air.

**CRRRRAAAAASSSH**

He lifted up the balloon cart and threw it across the boardwalk of the carnival.

Larry ran after Patrick.

Patrick ran towards some children playing with a man inside a heart suit. "I defy you, heartman!" He grabbed the heart suit and ripped it in half.

Loudspeakers throughout the carnival turned on. "_Attention everyone, there's a chubby pink starfish on the loose!_"

Nearly everybody in the carnival ran and screamed in terror.

"I got this!" Larry dove towards Patrick.

Patrick ran out of the way and dodged Larry.

**THUD**

Larry fell to the floor and stood up.

Patrick looked up and saw a twirl-around ride with hearts on it that was high in the sky. "Heart on stick must die!" He ran towards the large pole and tried to lift it up. "Rggghh!" The pole was too heavy for him. He released his grasp from the pole of the twirl-around ride and ran towards a little girl eating a heart-shaped lollipop. "Heart on stick must die!" He snatched the lollipop from the girl, broke the stick of the lollipop, and put it in his mouth.

SpongeBob gasped and ran after the sea star. "Patrick!"

Patrick slowly turned around and gave SpongeBob another soul-piercing glare.

A pause.

SpongeBob stopped running and simply looked at Patrick in shock.

Everybody stopped running and backed away from Patrick, they became silent.

Larry stood next to SpongeBob and folded his arms, he was prepared to tackle Patrick in case the sea star lashed out on anybody.

"Give me SpongeBob!" Patrick folded his arms.

SpongeBob's face drained of color.

A pause. SpongeBob didn't move an inch.

"I SAID, GIVE ME **SPONGEBOB!"** Patrick was very close to losing his temper once again.

Larry took a deep breath. 'As long as this calms down Patrick.' He was deeply considering about what he was going to do. The lobster eventually made a decision and pushed SpongeBob towards Patrick.

SpongeBob could hear his heartbeat as he stood a few feet away from Patrick.

"You broke my heart! Now I'm gonna break something of yours!" Patrick palmed his fist.

Larry took a few steps towards SpongeBob, he predicted the worst-cause scenario.

"Okay, Patrick, I know I deserve this." SpongeBob pointed at the surrounding crowd that was watching them. "But, do they?"

"They didn't get me anything either!" Patrick glared at the crowd.

The crowd lifted up their held items and were about to throw them at Patrick as gifts.

Patrick held his hand out at the crowd and made them stop from throwing any gifts at him. "Nope, it's too late for that now... for all of you!" His next rampage was bound to happen, the venting of his anger on the carnival will surely lead to its destruction.

"You're gonna have to get through the lifeguard before you hurt anybody." Larry lightly shoved SpongeBob aside and walked up to Patrick.

"You wanna be the first to get beat up? It's on!" Patrick raised his fists and made a karate pose.

SpongeBob covered his eyes with his hands, he couldn't bear to watch the sea star harm innocent citizens.

S-S-S-S-S

"Yee-haw! Get along little shellfish! Gallop you scallops!" Sandy had found another group of scallops and decided to lasso them to the hot-air balloon with some extra rope that was inside the basket. She controlled the path of the scallops' flight with her whip. The hot-air balloon was above the carnival at a moderate height. The squirrel looked below and saw SpongeBob, Patrick, and Larry being surrounded by a crowd.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob heard Sandy's voice and looked up, he saw Sandy riding a group of scallops while on a hot-air balloon. "Yeah! Sandy's here! Woo-hoo! Look Patrick, it's here! It's here! The best valentine in the whole wide world is right above you!" He jumped up and down and pointed at the sky.

Larry halted and looked at the hot-air balloon in the sky, the fight between him and Patrick was delayed.

"Sure it is."' Patrick rolled his eyes, he was skeptical of SpongeBob's claim. He thought that SpongeBob was trying to distract him.

"I'm telling you, it's right there, look up!" SpongeBob kept pointing at the sky.

"Uh-uh." Patrick shook his head.

"Patrick, just turn around!" SpongeBob yelled at the sea star.

"You must think I'm pretty dumb, huh?" Patrick narrowed his eyes at the sponge.

Sandy made the scallops dive to the floor of the carnival.

Plop!

The hot-air balloon landed on the boardwalk of the carnival.

"No you're not! Just turn around! It's behind you!" SpongeBob pointed at the hot-air balloon that was behind Patrick.

"The dude's serious. Just look behind you!" Larry was pointing behind Patrick as well.

"Nuh-uh. I'm gonna say this once and I'm not going to say it again, so pay attention. I am not, I repeat, not going to turn around or look up for any reason... ever!" Patrick was determined to not give in to SpongeBob and Larry's claims.

"Howdy, Patrick!" Sandy waved at the sea star.

"Hi, Sandy." Patrick turned around and saw Sandy, he waved his hand as well. He then saw the chocolate hot-air balloon and scratched his head.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Patrick!"' SpongeBob walked up to Patrick and patted him on the shoulder.

"Yay! My valentine!" Patrick ran to the hot-air balloon and jumped on it. "Hey, is this solid chocolate?"

"Patrick, no!" SpongeBob ran towards Patrick.

Patrick bit into the remaining part of the balloon that was inflated.

**SPLURT**!

Chocolate syrup exploded from the balloon and spilled all over the boardwalk. SpongeBob and Patrick were covered in the syrup.

"Aw SpongeBob, you didn't have to get me anything." Patrick smiled widely.

SpongeBob looked at his watch and smiled as well. "I have just enough time to clean this mess up and get to work."

"You won't have to clean anything. Allow me." Patrick licked the syrup off of his and SpongeBob's bodies and then quickly ate the rest of the syrup that was on the boardwalk.

"C'ya later, Pat." SpongeBob left the carnival.

**"BUUUUURRRRRRRRRP!" **Patrick's stomach was filled to the brim with chocolate.

S-S-S-S-S

Plankton was inside the laboratory of the Chum Bucket. Instead of planning a new scheme to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula, he kept staring at the paper-mache heart and was absolutely speechless. Numerous thoughts were running through his mind.

"Hello?" Karen tried to get Plankton's attention.

Plankton ignored her and kept staring at the heart.

"Aren't you supposed to steal the formula? Something that you do nearly everyday?" Karen knew that Plankton was distracted and tried to make him more productive.

Plankton looked up at Karen. "I'm not doing it today, I don't feel like it. I'm just... thinking about something." He sat down on a tiny chair. The plankton looked at the paper-mache heart and dove into a world of thoughts.


	14. Sandy's Rocket

**Chapter 14: Sandy's Rocket**

* * *

**CRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited his pineapple. He looked at the sky and knew that it was Sunday morning. However, he wasn't sure about what to do. He looked at his watch and thought for a bit. "Hmmm..."

A pause.

A lightbulb lit up in his head. "Now's a good time to visit Sandy." SpongeBob walked away from his neighborhood and headed towards Sandy's treedome.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward watched SpongeBob walk towards the horizon from one of the windows in the music room. He noticed that the neighborhood became quiet and he knew right away that everything became peaceful. 'Looks like luck is on my side.' He smiled widely and took out an empty canvas that was leaning on the wall, he put the canvas on a canvas holder. The octopus also took out a palette that had several different colors of paint and a paintbrush. Squidward dipped the brush into one of the colors and made slow and gentle strokes on the canvas.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick sat down on his couch and turned on the TV with his remote. For some strange reason, the television was showing an actual channel; it was functioning properly. The Bikini Bottom News Channel was the one that was currently selected.

"Boring." Patrick changed through several channels in search of a good show. He eventually stumbled upon the NASA channel. "What's this?" He saw a rocket soar up through the sky and exit the atmosphere. "Wow. That's gotta take a lot of matches and lighters to make a fire that big. And where did they get that giant can?" The sea star was fascinated by what he saw on the TV screen.

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy was typing on the keyboard of a bulky and advanced computer. A 3-D model of the moon appeared and she inputted a certain set of coordinates. A green dot appeared on a certain location of the moon.

"Well, now that that's done, all I have to do is bring a few more things, do a few more tests, and some check ups. I'm gonna lift this rocket up to the surface and it should be ready by tomorrow." Sandy stood up and exited her laboratory. She walked down a long set of metal stairs and entered an extremely large room that had a rocket inside of it. She pressed on one of the buttons of a control panel that was near the doorway she went through.

The ceiling split into two halves and opened up to reveal the morning sky. The circular area that the rocket stood on lifted up to the open circle that was left behind by the two halves of the ceiling.

Sandy exited the room and walked upstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

Sandy exited her treedome.

"Wow!" SpongeBob had watched the rocket lift up to the surface and marveled at the size of the vehicle.

"Howdy, SpongeBob, how do you like it?" Sandy smirked.

"Isn't that a rocket?" SpongeBob scratched his head.

"Yep. Want me to show you around?" Sandy pushed a wooden staircase that was near the treedome towards the door of the rocket. She walked up the wooden stairs and opened the metal door.

"Wow, what are you gonna do with it?" SpongeBob walked up the stairs and entered the rocket. He saw several strange tools and machines inside the rocket.

"I'm going to the moon, SpongeBob!" Sandy entered the rocket and pointed at a poster of the moon.

"The moon! Can I go?" SpongeBob became curious.

"No way, SpongeBob. There's not enough room for you." Sandy shook her head, she didn't want to bring anyone along.

"But I don't take up that much space!" SpongeBob made an innocent face. He squeezed himself into a beaker. "See?" He got out of the beaker and opened a drawer. The sponge squeezed himself into the drawer. "I can fit in here." He closed the drawer with his hands. "Mmm, cozy."

"I need that drawer." Sandy opened the drawer.

"Well, how about..." SpongeBob jumped out of the drawer and squeezed into a test tube. "This?" He jumped out and squeezed into a smaller test tube. "Or this?" The sponge slowly got himself out of that test tube and stood up.

"SpongeBob, this isn't for fun." Sandy took out a clipboard that had complex math equations written on it and showed it to SpongeBob. "See this? This is science. I don't have time for games and I don't have time for stowaways."

"Fine." SpongeBob squeezed himself through a set of metal bars that was inside a vent and trapped himself in there. "Put me in the brig, I don't mind!"

"That's the air vent, SpongeBob." Sandy pressed a button on a control panel that was on the wall. "I need that too."

The air vent turned on and SpongeBob was blown out of it. The sponge landed on the floor and stood up. "Oh, please, can I go? Can I? Can I? Huh? Please?" He walked up to Sandy and fell to his knees, he begged while making puppy eyes.

"All right. Y'all can ride in the cargo hold if you just-" Sandy gave in to SpongeBob's plea.

"Yeah! Goin' to the moon! Moon ride! Moon ride! Moon ride!" SpongeBob ran through and around the several rooms of the rocket in joy and excitement.

Sandy quickly grabbed the sponge and lifted him up, she turned SpongeBob around to face her. "You will go under one condition, don't touch anything. Understand?" She had a serious demeanor.

"Roger." SpongeBob made a military salute.

Sandy dropped SpongeBob to the floor. "I'm gonna go get a few things. Don't do anything crazy." She exited the rocket.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob stood still and resisted the urge to touch any tool or object inside the rocket ship.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy dropped a pile of items into the rocket. She took out some sort of gun from the pile and pumped it.

"Wow, look at that pop gun. Are we gonna go hunting aliens on the moon?" SpongeBob was jumping up and down, he was absolutely thrilled to go on a trip to the moon and the possibilities that he was thinking were endless.

"Aww, hush, silly." Sandy exited the rocket.

SpongeBob followed.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Sandy walked down the set of wooden stairs. Sandy pulled the trigger of the gun and shot at three rocks to test it out. Three gray nets came out of the gun and covered all three of the rocks in less than a second. "This is for harvesting moon rocks." She looked at SpongeBob and pointed at the rocks.

"Well, when you're done playing with rocks, you could use that for some serious alien hunting." SpongeBob was still fantasizing about what he could do on the moon.

"Aliens? Are you nuts? I've been to the moon, there are no aliens." Sandy tried to help SpongeBob separate fantasy from reality.

"Sandy, Sandy, Sandy. How could you be so naive? There's evidence all around us. How do you explain Atlantis, cow licks, 99¢ stores?" SpongeBob walked around Sandy as he explained his viewpoint, he unintentionally formed a circle from his walking. "And how about those mysterious circles that pop up in kelp fields over night?" He looked down a saw the circle that he formed. "Ahh!, there's one now!"

"SpongeBob, go home and get some shut eye. Be here tomorrow at the crack of dawn and leave those crazy alien notions behind." Sandy walked up the wooden stairs and entered the rocket.

"C'ya later, Sandy. I guess." SpongeBob walked towards his home.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward finished painting on the canvas. The painting depicted the stars and galaxies of outer space, a full moon was in the center of the painting. The octopus had always appreciated the beauty of the night sky and wondered how it would be like to travel through the depths of the galaxy on a rocket. However, he didn't pursue to become an astronaut because he knew that it was only a fantasy and he could never make it become a reality. Nonetheless, the moon fascinated him as well and he had incorporated the moon into a few of his paintings.

Squidward put his paintbrush and palette away. He walked to the sheet holder and grabbed the clarinet. He flip through some sheets on the holder and found the song he wanted. He began playing with his clarinet.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick felt like he watched plenty of the NASA channel and turned off the TV. He stood up and climbed to the ceiling.

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

He exited his rock.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob saw Patrick and walked up to him. "Pat, I got some good news. I'm going with Sandy on a trip to the moon." He smirked.

Patrick's eyes widened. "Wow, SpongeBob. I didn't know you were a scientist." He scratched his head.

SpongeBob laughed. "I just asked her if I could come along. I'm not a scientist."

"Oh, I see." Patrick nodded. "When are you going?"

"The rocket is going to leave tommorow morning. I'm gonna have to wait for a while." SpongeBob was deep in thought, he wondered if he should go to Jellyfish Fields.

Patrick looked up at the sky. "SpongeBob, have you wondered about how it's like to be above the ocean surface?"

"Remember when we went to Sandy's treedome without having any water? It wasn't pleasant." SpongeBob shuddered.

"It's not that. I just wanna see the dry land and sky with my own eyes. I bet Sandy has seen it." Patrick kept looking at the sky.

"I've thought about that too, Patrick. Every sea creature has probably thought about that at one time or another. I'll tell you what dry land looks like when I get back from the trip." SpongeBob looked up at the sky as well.

A long pause.

"Anyways, you wanna go to Jellyfish Fields?" SpongeBob broke the silence.

Patrick saw a jellyfish flying in a certain direction and had a sudden burst in intelligence. "SpongeBob, I got a better idea. Why don't we build a plane and ride it so you could prepare for the moon trip? You'll get used to flying in the sky." He smiled.

SpongeBob snapped his fingers. "Good idea indeed." He suddenly realized something. "Wait a sec, how are we gonna get all the stuff we need to build a plane that can fit two people?" He found a flaw in Patrick's idea.

"Who do you think we're gonna ask for help?" Patrick walked in the direction of Sandy's treedome.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

Patrick and SpongeBob walked up the wooden stairs. The sea star knocked on the door of the rocket.

Sandy opened the door. "Howdy, guys. What do you want?" She was in the middle of testing the functions of the rocket.

"Me and SpongeBob want to build our own plane. We wanna know if you have materials or blueprints for a plane since you have a rocket and a bunch of other stuff." Patrick explained what they wanted.

Sandy gave Patrick a funny look and giggled. "Why would you wanna do that?"

"I thought it would be a good idea if SpongeBob could prepare for the moon trip by getting used to flying high in the sky." Patrick continued to explain.

An awkward pause.

"Alright. I'll see what I can find." Sandy entered the treedome.

SpongeBob and Patrick entered the treedome as well and put on fish bowls full of water.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy walked towards the oak tree. The sponge saw a few robots roaming the treedome.

"Sandy, how many secrets do you have in this treedome? I keep getting more and more amazed the more I visit here." SpongeBob marveled at the robots.

Sandy laughed. "If you thought my robots were a secret, you've seen nothing yet."

The three entered the oak tree.

Sandy turned around and faced SpongeBob and Patrick. "Guys, when you enter the laboratory, don't you dare touch anything. Okay?" She was looking at Patrick especially.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob nodded.

"If you say so." Patrick made sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid, he was focused on more important matters such as building the plane.

The three walked down a set of stairs and entered a metal hallway.

SpongeBob's eyes widened as he saw a faint reflection of himself on one of the walls. "This place is so clean..." He looked at his reflection with wonder.

Patrick marveled at his reflection as well.

"My robots always make sure that my lab is spotless." Sandy continued to walk down the hallway while SpongeBob and Patrick looked at their reflections on the walls.

A pause.

Sandy turned around. "What're you boys waiting for?"

SpongeBob and Patrick shook back to their senses and followed Sandy.

The squirrel walked past several doors until she stopped in front of a double door. She opened the double door and revealed a small and empty room with a ladder that lead down to deeper floors. She went down the ladder.

SpongeBob and Patrick went down the ladder as well.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy landed on the floor. They were in a giant storage facility. Towering stacks of cardboard boxes and metal containers were in neat rows throughout the expansive room. The stacks were neatly organized in alphabetical and numerical order.

"So you're looking for plane parts and blueprints, right? I'll show you the way." Sandy walked down a row of stacks that had labels that all started 'P'.

SpongeBob and Patrick followed.

Sandy stopped in front of a stack that had a giant box on top.

"How're we gonna get that down?" SpongeBob looked up and scratched his head.

"That's easy." Sandy nimbly climbed up the stack and lifted up the box with all of her might. She jumped to the floor.

**THUD**

The floor shook as Sandy landed on it while holding the box.

SpongeBob and Patrick nearly fell to the floor. The stacks wobbled somewhat but soon became still.

Sandy took out some sort of remote and aimed it at the box she was holding. She pressed a red button and the remote shot out a ray that shrunk the box to a size that fitted her hand.

"I've always wanted to use super-cool gadgets like that." Patrick looked at the remote but had the willpower to not touch it.

"Wow." SpongeBob could only say one word. He marveled at Sandy's invention and it was extremely obvious by now that he hadn't visited Sandy very often and wasn't used to the strange stuff in the treedome.

The three walked back to the ladder and climbed back up to the small room. They then exited the room and entered the hallway.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Sandy walked into SpongeBob's neighborhood. "Where should I leave it?" She tried to find a place to leave the box.

"Right here." Patrick pointed at his lawn.

Sandy dropped the box on the lawn and took out the remote. She pressed a green button and the remote shot out a ray that enlarged the box back to its normal size. "You got any questions before I leave?"

Patrick climbed the large box and opened one of the lids. He looked inside and saw several dismantled pieces of a plane, a small instruction book, and some equipment for pilots. "We're good. I think we can build this from scratch."

"Alright. C'y'all later." Sandy walked back to her treedome.

SpongeBob opened the other lid of the box and looked inside. "Oh my gosh, Patrick. This is perfect! We can start right away!" He smiled widely and dove into the box, he grabbed the pilots' equipment and the instruction booklet and came back out.

Patrick heaved the plane parts out of the box.

SpongeBob opened the instruction booklet and showed it to Patrick.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward heard loud construction noises coming from outside as he played another song on his clarinet. "What could SpongeBob and Patrick be up to now?!" He put his clarinet on the sheet holder and stomped downstairs.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

He exited his tiki and saw SpongeBob and Patrick building an old-school airplane.

A long pause.

The two friends finished building the plane.

"We're finally finished." SpongeBob wiped an excessive amount of sweat off his brow and smiled.

"SpongeBob, Patrick, what's the meaning of this?" Squidward walked up to SpongeBob and Patrick, he was in a sour mood.

"We're gonna ride this airplane we just built." Patrick smirked.

"I'm trying to prepare for my trip to the moon with Sandy." SpongeBob sat on a seat in the plane.

Squidward laughed by honking his nose. "I bet you two imbeciles don't even know anything about outer space. And how are you gonna fly that plane without causing an accident? You have to take courses in aviation before you even have a chance of flying that plane without causing mayhem." He folded his arms.

"What's aviation?" Patrick scratched his head, he suddenly became dumber.

Squidward facepalmed. "Forget about it. I won't disturb you as long as you don't crash that damn plane into my house." He entered his tiki.

Patrick hopped into the other seat of the plane which was next to SpongeBob. "Who needs grumpy Squid's advice? Right, SpongeBob?"

SpongeBob handed Patrick the instruction booklet. "Squidward doesn't know that the instructions to fly this plane were in this book. I'll take control of this plane while you read the book and tell me what to do."

"Gotcha." Patrick made a thumbs up.

SpongeBob put on his pilot helmet and handed one to Patrick, he then put the goggles over his eyes.

Patrick put on his helmet and put the goggles over his eyes as well. He opened the booklet and skipped some pages until he got to the section with instructions to fly the plane. "Turn on the switch near the control wheel."

SpongeBob flicked the switch near the control wheel from 'OFF' to 'ON'.

The engine of the airplane turned on. The turbines on the wings of the plane began to spin.

"Press into the control wheel of the plane." Patrick continued to read through the instructions.

SpongeBob pressed the control wheel into the plane and heard a light click. The airplane began to move forward. The sponge smirked and controlled his nervousness from going out of control.

"Wait for it..." Patrick turned around and looked at the neighborhood as the plane drove away from it. He held up his hand until the time was right.

A pause. The airplane drove a decent enough distance away from the neighborhood.

He made a thumbs up and then continued to read the booklet. "Pull the control wheel towards you."

SpongeBob slowly pulled the control wheel towards himself.

"Yeah, don't pull the wheel too much. The plane should gently climb up to the sky." Patrick nodded.

The nose of the airplane raised up towards the sky. The plane finally flew in the air after a few more seconds.

"We're flying! We're flying!" SpongeBob made a wide smile and shook in his seat in excitement.

"Don't get excited yet, SpongeBob. We're still not high enough in the sky. Keep pulling the control wheel until I tell you another instruction." Patrick looked down and waited until they were high enough from the ground.

"'kay." SpongeBob maintained his grip on the control wheel and made sure his hands didn't let go or pull the wheel too much. He stopped shaking in his seat and tried to relax.

A long pause.

"Alright." Patrick stopped looking down and resumed his reading of the booklet. "Push the control wheel away from you."

SpongeBob pushed the control wheel away from himself. The nose of the airplane lowered to a certain degree.

"Stop." Patrick made a command.

SpongeBob gripped the wheel normally, he wasn't pushing or pulling. The airplane was flying through the sky smoothly.

Patrick read the booklet. "You see those three levers near the control wheel?"

"Yep." SpongeBob saw a black, blue, and red lever respectively; the levers were near the control wheel.

"That's the throttle control. The black lever helps you maintain your speed while climbing, the blue lever controls the speed of the plane while flying straight such as what the plane is doing right now, and the red lever helps you control your speed while descending. If you pull any of the levers completely down, the current speed of the plane while doing that action will not change at all until that lever is pushed back up. Got it?" Patrick read through the book and spoke what he read out loud.

SpongeBob pulled the blue lever somewhat. "Like this?"

"Yep." Patrick nodded.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward watched the plane fly through the sky from one of the windows in the music room. "Well, Squidward, you never know." He spoke to himself.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick saw a group of jellyfish flying in the sky. The jellyfish were directly in the path of the plane.

"Uh oh, here comes trouble. SpongeBob, I think you know what to do." Patrick was confident in SpongeBob's ability to fly the plane.

SpongeBob pulled the red lever and pushed the control wheel forward. The plane dove down and avoided the group of jellyfish. He then pulled the control wheel and the plane flew back up to the height that it flew through before.

"Phew. That was close." Patrick wiped some sweat off his brow and laid back in his seat.

A pause.

"Umm... SpongeBob, how can you fly this plane so easily? I thought the instructions in the book were going to be really hard to understand." Patrick scratched his head.

"It's because this plane is modeled after planes that were used in the past. Back then, planes were easier to operate, were smaller, and were more lightweight than the planes we have today." SpongeBob answered Patrick's question.

"Are you becoming smarter, SpongeBob? Maybe Sandy's intelligence is rubbing off on you." Patrick smirked.

SpongeBob laughed. "I got all of that info from the book, Pat."

"Oh." Patrick looked at the booklet that he was holding. "Why would Sandy use an old-school plane? She had built way more complicated inventions than this one."

"Using a modern plane would be inconvenient because you would probably need your own airport just to fly off the ground safely." SpongeBob spoke.

Patrick looked at the ground that was below him and enjoyed the view.

S-S-S-S-S

A jellyfish flew away from its group and followed the airplane.

S-S-S-S-S

"Patrick, how do you turn the plane left or right?" SpongeBob still couldn't fully operate the plane.

Patrick opened the booklet and skipped a few pages. "All you have to do is turn the control wheel left or right."

"Okay." SpongeBob turned the control wheel towards the right. He made the airplane raise its left wing and the aircraft turned to the right.

The jellyfish flew directly towards the plane and landed on top of Patrick's head.

"Huh?" Patrick looked up and noticed the jellyfish on top of his head. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!"" The sea star shook his head violently so the jellyfish could get off his head.

SpongeBob looked back and saw the jellyfish on top of Patrick's head. His eyes bugged out and he gasped.

"**BUUUUZZZZZZ!**" The jellyfish became angry.

**ZZZAAAAAP**

The jellyfish zapped Patrick on the head and flew towards SpongeBob.

**ZZAAAP**

The jellyfish zapped SpongeBob on the back.

SpongeBob released his hands from the control wheel and reeled in pain. The control wheel was still tilting to the right, the airplane continued to turn to the right and eventually flew in the opposite direction of the path that it was heading. At that moment, the control wheel stopped tilting to the right and returned to its normal position.

**ZZAAAP**

**ZZAAP**

**ZZAP**

**ZZZAAAAP**

The jellyfish continued to sting SpongeBob and Patrick. The sponge and sea star began to get red scars on their skin.

The airplane flew through the group of jellyfish from before. The group of jellyfish became irritated and chased the airplane.

**ZZZAAAP**

**ZZZAAP**

**ZZZAP**

**ZZZZZAAAAAAAP**

**ZZZAAAP**

**ZZZAAAAAP**

The group of jellyfish were stinging SpongeBob and Patrick viciously.

SpongeBob fell on the control wheel and accidentally made it tilt forward. The plane dove down and flew directly towards SpongeBob's pineapple.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!" SpongeBob screamed as he tried to shove the jellyfish out of the way.

**CRRRRAAAAASSSSH**

The airplane crashed through the pineapple. Pieces of the exterior wall of the pineapple flew in the air and landed on the ground. A large hole was left on the wall of the pineapple in the aftermath of the crash. The jellyfish flew out of the hole and headed for elsewhere.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward heard the loud sound. "What in the world?" The octopus stopped playing his clarinet and put it on the sheet holder. He walked down the stairs.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

Squidward exited his tiki and looked at the large hole that went through SpongeBob's pineapple. "I almost jinxed it, didn't I?" He ran towards the house.

**CRREEAK**

**SLAM**

He quickly opened the front door and entered the pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward saw a crashed airplane inside the living room, a few puffs of smoke were coming out of the aircraft. SpongeBob and Patrick were standing in front of the airplane and were thinking about what to do next, the two had survived the crash unscathed.

Gary slithered into the living room and widened his eyes, he was in total disbelief at what he was seeing.

"Well, heheh, this is gonna take a long time to clean up." SpongeBob smiled nervously and sweatdropped.

"You said it, buddy." Patrick was grinning, he was grateful that he and his best friend had survived the potentially fatal accident.

"SpongeBob, Patrick, I'm not cleaning up your mess." Squidward stomped towards the door and exited the pineapple, he wasted his time since he thought that something horrific had occurred.

SpongeBob quietly exited the living room and searched for a broom, he was going to begin a massive clean-up.

Patrick followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Twelve hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob laid down on his bed and put the sheet over himself. The lights in the room were turned off and Gary was already sleeping. The sponge and the sea star had spent a large portion of the day cleaning up the mess they had made. He slowly closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

A pause. His active consciousness prevented him from falling asleep.

SpongeBob opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the foghorn, the clock's hands were showing 9:07 PM. "Oh, hurry up!" The sponge took out two clothes pins and closed his eyes. He opened and closed the clothes pins on his eyelids so he could no longer open his eyes and look at the clock. "These oughta do the trick." He wanted that night to pass by quickly so he didn't have to wait a long time before he could go on the moon trip with Sandy.

Patrick opened the window in the bedroom and sat on the windowsill, a certain thought in his mind had made him get out of bed and climb all the way up to the bedroom just to tell the sponge about it. "Hiya, SpongeBob!"

SpongeBob quickly opened his eyes and made the clothes pins fly in the air. "What is it, Patrick? Can't you see I'm sleeping here?"

"I wanted to bring you something for your moon trip tomorrow.'" Patrick digged in his pockets.

"A present?' SpongeBob smirked.

"No. Uhh, SpongeBob, is Sandy's rocket alien proof?" Patrick scratched his head while his other hand was still digging in his pockets.

"There are no aliens, Patrick. Just ask Sandy." SpongeBob found what Patrick said to be ridiculous since Sandy had said something to him about aliens earlier in the day.

"Well, I guess you won't be needing this alien repellent for your trip!" Patrick stopped digging in his pockets and took out a spray can. He had bought it from the dollar store a few weeks ago.

"Alien repellent? Let me see that." SpongeBob got out of bed and walked up to Patrick. He took the can and examined it closely. "New Alien-Out Window Protectant. Does not stop burglars." He read the text on the can out loud. "Well, I guess you're right, Patrick. We'd better go spray those windows!" The sponge found the spray can to be legitimate.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick stood in front of the rocket.

"Look how big it is, SpongeBob!" Patrick marveled at the size of the aircraft.

"It's pretty impressive alright." SpongeBob nodded.

"Come on!" Patrick walked up the wooden stairs to the rocket, he was curious and wanted to explore the insides of the ship.

"We're just here to spray the windows, Patrick!" SpongeBob knew that Patrick might fool around inside the rocket.

"Wow. How do you think we get inside?" Patrick scratched his head as he stood in front of a strange-looking front door. He was trying to find the doorknob so he could open it.

"We don't, we're just spraying the-" SpongeBob was saying something but got interrupted.

**CRRREEEAK**

Patrick opened the door. "I opened it, SpongeBob! Come on!" He entered the rocket.

SpongeBob took a deep breath and entered the rocket as well.

**SLAM**

The door was closed.

S-S-S-S-S

"Are those... bottles?" Patrick saw several glass vials on a few tables throughout the room.

"Pat, let's get out of here. This is a bad idea." SpongeBob turned around and began to walk back to the front door.

Patrick grabbed SpongeBob by the shoulder and prevented him from walking any further. "Chill out, SpongeBob. I just wanna explore this place really quick and before you know it, we'll be out of here. Sandy won't find out anyway." The sea star saw a set of metal stairs and dragged SpongeBob along as he walked up the stairs.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick and SpongeBob entered a room that had several advanced computers inside of it. The computers controlled the numerous functions of the rocket.

"Holy seacow, SpongeBob. This must be the control room." Patrick smiled widely and looked at the room with wonder. He guessed that the machines in the room controlled the rocket since they were super-complicated and that guess was strangely correct.

"Yeah. Just don't touch anything." SpongeBob became worried after thinking of the likelihood of Patrick accidently starting the rocket.

Patrick walked up to a computer and grabbed a joystick with a red button on top of it that was connected to the computer. The sea star moved the joystick in random directions and repeatedly pressed the red button. He saw bright and colorful flashes on the screen of the computer. "Look, I'm winning!" He thought that he was playing some sort of video game.

"Patrick, cut that out! Patrick, come on, we can't hang around in here." SpongeBob poked Patrick's shoulder as his anxiety worsened, the sea star ignored him and continued to play the 'game'. "This is Sandy's big rocket, not some kind of a fun… " He looked towards one of the larger computers and the screen of the machine distorted his image as if it was a carnival mirror. "...house?" The sponge raised his brow.

A bright and red flash came from the screen of the computer that Patrick was using.

"Woo-hoo! Winner! Yeah! High score!" Patrick dropped the joystick on the keyboard of the computer and jumped in joy at his 'achievement'.

"Hey, Patrick, what game was that anyway?" SpongeBob couldn't help himself, he was becoming carried away as well.

"I don't know." Patrick shrugged his shoulders.

A pause.

Patrick was deep in thought. "Hmmm... , SpongeBob, I think there's a way to make this rocket even more alien proof."

"What is it?" SpongeBob became curious.

"Wait right here; I'll be right back." Patrick ran downstairs and exited the rocket.

SpongeBob sat down on the floor and waited for Patrick to come back. He had the willpower to not touch any of the machines in the room because he knew that he will end up fooling around with them.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick entered the rocket and walked up the stairs to the control room. He was carrying Squidward on his shoulder. The octopus was sleeping and was wearing a pink pajama shirt with a floral pattern, one of his hands was holding some sort of red bag full of water.

"Patrick, are you crazy?! Why did you bring Squidward along? He might wake up and tell Sandy what happened here!" SpongeBob whispered loudly.

Patrick slowly took the red bag away from Squidward's hand and held it out in front of SpongeBob. "Do you remember seeing a strange lump under Squidward's blanket when we watch the sun rise to the sky from his bedroom? I don't see it all the time though."

"Yeah, I've noticed it too." SpongeBob nodded.

"I've touched the lump before and it felt really squishy. I guessed that Squidward holds something really nasty when he sleeps. When I came to his bedroom a few minutes ago, I removed the blanket and found him holding this red thing." Patrick pointed at the red bag. "I think this..." Patrick looked at the red bag closely and tried to figure out what it was. "...water sac... is so disgusting that the aliens might run away from it. I had to bring Squidward along because taking the water sac by itself would be stealing and we might get in trouble later on if I had done that." The sea star's intelligence had increased and he was thinking of the consequences of his actions.

"Alright, Pat. We'll keep him as long as that water sac scares the aliens away." SpongeBob grabbed Squidward and made him sit down on the floor.

"What to do..." Patrick wandered around the room and tried to find something to occupy his time.

A pause.

Patrick looked up and saw a lever above his head. "What does this do?" He became curious and lifted up one of his arms so he could grab it.

"Patrick, I don't think we should-" SpongeBob walked up to Patrick and got interrupted.

Patrick pulled the lever.

Half of the rocket opened to reveal the night sky and SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward were pushed out of the rocket by the floor they were standing or sitting on. The three flew in the air for several seconds, they could see Sandy's treedome from the height they were flying through.

"I like rockets." Patrick forgot about what he did or said a few minutes ago and spoke something random.

SpongeBob gasped and grabbed Squidward, he didn't want the octopus to fall to the floor and wake up.

The three succumbed to gravity and fell back to the rocket. They landed on the floor and the other half of the aircraft closed with the half that the three neighbors were in to make the rocket whole again.

Squidward moved somewhat but didn't wake up.

"Phew." SpongeBob wiped some sweat off his brow and stood up.

Patrick stood up and jumped up and down. "More more!" The sea star still wanted to do foolish things on the rocket.

"No more!" SpongeBob shook his head and tugged Patrick's shoulder towards the stairs.

"What's this?" Patrick pressed a button on the keyboard of a large computer.

The rocket shook rapidly. SpongeBob and Patrick barely managed to stand on their feet as the rocket shook the floor. Squidward turned his body to another side but didn't wake up. After several seconds, the shaking stopped.

"Okay, one more." SpongeBob smirked and found the rocket's shaking to be fun.

Patrick pressed the same button.

The rocket shook and the two friends tried their best to stand on the floor without falling. The shaking eventually stopped.

"Okay, that's enough. Let's go." SpongeBob walked towards the stairs.

"Oh, wait, I think this one starts it." Patrick lowered his finger towards a certain button.

SpongeBob grabbed Patrick's hand and prevented him from pushing that button. "Patrick, what are you doing? I'm the space traveler here and I happen to know that that particular button is right over here." He pointed at an adjacent button and accidentally pressed it.

The engine of the rocket started. Smoke came from the bottom of the rocket and slowly flew across the air.

SpongeBob's eyes bugged out and his face drained of color.

"You started the rocket!" Patrick was showing an expression or shock.

Squidward woke up due to the loud sound of the rocket's engine and stood up. "SPONGEBOB, PATRICK, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DO-" He was screaming at his two neighbors in anger and then stopped talking in the middle of his sentence. The octopus realized that SpongeBob and Patrick had brought him to a rocket and the aircraft was about to blast off to space. 'Well, I didn't expect this to be a mixed blessing.' He thought to himself. One of Squidward's dreams was finally going to become true.

S-S-S-S-S

A small portion of the smoke entered Sandy's treedome. Sandy smelled some smoke inside her bedroom and woke up. She heard the engine of her rocket. "Oh, SpongeBob..." The squirrel stood up and exited the room, she ran down a set of stairs.

S-S-S-S-S

"Hold on, buddy!" Patrick hugged SpongeBob. The sponge hugged the sea star back. The two friends were afraid of what was going to happen when the rocket blasts out of the ocean.

Squidward gulped in anxiety and leaned against the wall.

Nearly all the floors of the rocket abruptly opened up. The floor that the three neighbors were standing on pushed them all the way to the ceiling with several other things in the rocket getting pushed up there as well.

Fire came from the bottom of the rocket and the aircraft blasted off. It soared up to the surface of the ocean at a rapid speed. After a few more seconds, the rocket flew out of the ocean and soared through the atmosphere.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!**" SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward screamed as they fell all the way to the bottom floor of the rocket.

The rocket soon escaped the Earth's atmosphere and entered space.

The three neighbors and several other things in the rocket stopped falling and floated.

"Hey, we stopped falling!" Patrick stopped hugging SpongeBob and smiled.

"Look!" SpongeBob pointed at a window. Through the window was a dark void with several small and faint lights that they called stars. "We're in space now! Whee!" The sponge floated across the room as fast as he could.

Squidward looked through the window and marveled at the size of the blue planet that he lived in, that trip to the moon was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Hey! Whoa! Somebody get me down, or up, or something!" Patrick floated across the room and tried to touch the floor with his feet.

SpongeBob laughed.

"Hey, SpongeBob, watch this!" Patrick grabbed a jar of peanut butter and a tube of toothpaste. He opened the jar of peanut butter and took the cap off the tube of toothpaste. He squeezed the toothpaste into the peanut butter.

"Hey! You got your toothpaste in my peanut butter!" SpongeBob tried to make a joke. He then grabbed a heavy barbell. "Patrick, I can do this!" He lifted up the barbell with ease since there was no gravity.

"Will you two be quiet? I'm trying to enjoy the beautiful scenery." Squidward continued to look through the window, SpongeBob and Patrick were annoying him and that made him ill-tempered. The octopus noticed that the rocket was flying closer to the moon.

SpongeBob and Patrick stopped fooling around and looked through the other windows in the rocket.

A pause.

The rocket flew around the moon at a somewhat slower speed.

"That's a lot of cheese." Patrick was fascinated by the terrain of the moon.

SpongeBob laughed. "Where are those aliens that you were talking about, Pat?" He couldn't see any extraterrestrials walking across the surface of the moon.

"They should be around there somewhere. Just keep looking." Patrick squinted his eyes and tried to find signs of life on the rocky surface full of craters.

"There is no such thing as aliens. It's just your imagination going wild." Squidward retorted what SpongeBob and Patrick said about aliens.

"Said the same grumpy Squid who told us that we couldn't fly a plane." Patrick turned around and faced Squidward. He raised his brow and folded his arms.

"Didn't you two crash that plane into the pineapple?" Squidward turned around and glared at Patrick.

"Why I oughta..." Patrick's face turned red and he shook his fist, the sea star was about to lose his temper.

"C'mon guys, now's not a time to fight." SpongeBob smiled nervously. He didn't want Patrick and Squidward's argument to ruin that precious moment in space.

Squidward and Patrick turned around and faced their backs towards each other; the tension between them lessened.

The rocket stopped flying around the moon and headed towards Earth. It accelerated as it entered the blue planet's atmosphere.

SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and all the other objects in the rocket succumbed to gravity and fell to the floor.

"Hey, who turned the heavy back on?" Patrick stood up.

"We must be landing." SpongeBob stood up and walked towards a window. He looked through the glass and saw the ocean surface rapidly zooming towards his vision.

'I can't wait to go back to sleep.' Squidward stood up and smiled at what he was thinking.

The rocket flew through the ocean's surface.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

Sandy exited her treedome. She wore an astronaut suit and a jetpack that was strapped to the suit. The squirrel had to search through the laboratory to find the jetpack.

"Sometimes that SpongeBob is as dumb as a sack of peanuts." Sandy turned the jetpack on by pressing a red button that was on it; flames came from the two small rockets of the jetpack. The squirrel jumped to the air and flew across the sky in search of her rocket.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRRRRAAAAAAASSSSH**

A large plume of sand.

A pause.

The plume of sand dissipated. The rocket had landed near SpongeBob's neighborhood. Most of the aircraft was buried in the sand due to how fast the rocket flew towards Earth.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRRREEEEAAK**

Patrick opened the bottom door of the rocket and looked outside. "Wow, it sure looks a lot like home." He thought that the rocket landed on a different planet.

"Are you insane?! This place IS our home." Squidward squeezed through the bottom doorway and found what Patrick said to be ridiculous.

SpongeBob barely got his head out of the doorway and narrowed his eyes. "This place is too quiet. Something smells fishy around here."

"You two are out of your minds! I know for sure that this is gonna be a recipe for disaster. I'm outta here." Squidward exited the rocket and began to walk to his tiki.

"SQUIDWARD, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" SpongeBob grabbed Squidward and dragged him back to the rocket.

**SLAM**

Patrick closed the door.

S-S-S-S-S

"Squid, can't you see that this is all a trick? The aliens are projecting our memories onto the environment! They're trying to confuse us." SpongeBob thought that a dire situation was occurring.

"Okay, okay, I'll take whatever precaution you want so you could leave me alone." Squidward became impatient, he had a strong desire to go back to his tiki and get his beauty sleep.

"So you mean to say they've taken what we thought we think and make us think we thought our thoughts we've been thinking our thoughts we think we thought? I think…" Patrick confused himself.

"Yeah and we're not gonna fall for it!" SpongeBob walked across the rocket and grabbed three astronaut suits. "Put this on, all of you. We don't know what the aliens are trying to do to us and I'm gonna make sure we're not gonna take any risks." He showed grave concern for his neighbors. The sponge handed an astronaut suit to Patrick and Squidward.

The sea star and octopus put on their suits.

SpongeBob put on his astronaut suit. "Now you're gonna get your weapons." He searched throughout the rocket and found a pile of pop guns. He gave a gun to Patrick and Squidward and took one for himself.

"What does this do?" Patrick scratched his head.

Squidward looked at his gun and raised his brow.

"That gun shoots out nets so you could capture the aliens. If you want to shoot from a longer distance, just pump the gun." SpongeBob explained what the gun did.

"Like this?" Patrick pumped the gun by moving the stick on the end of the weapon up and down.

"You got it." SpongeBob made a thumbs up and smiled.

Squidward pumped his gun and thought of someone he could shoot at. The octopus made an evil smile and laughed by honking his nose.

"What's wrong, Squid?" Patrick made a puzzled look at Squidward.

"Nothing." Squidward returned to his signature deadpan face.

Patrick suddenly realized something. "Oh yeah!" He picked up the water sac. "We're gonna frighten the living daylight out of the aliens." The sea star giggled.

"Now that we're ready, let's go!" SpongeBob walked up to the bottom door of the rocket.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRRREEEEEEAK**

SpongeBob cautiously opened the bottom door. The three neighbors exited the rocket.

**SLAM**

The sponge closed the door.

"I'll see you guys later. I already know who to target." Squidward walked away from his two neighbors.

"Squid, make sure that you dump the aliens into the rocket when you capture them." SpongeBob spoke to the octopus.

"Gotcha." Squidward continued to walk away. He vanished from the horizon.

"Hey, SpongeBob, maybe we should go to your house first. I bet there'll be some aliens in there." Patrick pointed at SpongeBob's pineapple.

"Good idea, Pat." SpongeBob walked up to his pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEEAK**

SpongeBob opened the front door and the two friends entered the pineapple.

**SLAM**

The sponge closed the door. They were in a dark living room; all the lights in the pineapple were turned off.

SpongeBob and Patrick tip-toed out of the living room and entered the kitchen. There were no 'aliens' in sight so they slowly exited the kitchen and walked up a set of stairs.

**CRRRREEEEEAK**

SpongeBob opened the door and entered his bedroom. He saw a sleeping Gary and pointed at the snail. "Aha!" He pumped his gun and pulled the trigger. A gray net came out and enveloped Gary.

"Meow?" Gary woke up and slithered a bit. He was completely blind due to the net.

"You got him, SpongeBob! Won't Sandy be proud." Patrick smiled.

"Sandy, I forgot about her." SpongeBob's eyes widened. "She's gonna hate us for stealing her rocket. But won't she feel silly when I bring home a real live alien? Aww, she'll love me!" He smiled and relaxed.

"Sandy... loving you?" Patrick smirked and raised his brow.

"N-nothing." SpongeBob blushed somewhat.

An awkward pause.

"Anyways, c'mon, Patrick! The more, the merrier!" SpongeBob walked to the 'alien' and picked it up. He and Patrick exited the room. They walked downstairs and exited the pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened a door on the side of the rocket and threw the 'alien' into the aircraft.

"ALIEN HUNTING! ALIEN HUNTING!" Patrick jumped up and down in excitement.

"Shh, quiet, Patrick, don't let them know that we're on to them!" SpongeBob whispered loudly. "Uhh, yeah, alien hunting. I saw that on TV, too. Gee Patrick, let's drop in on our pal Sandy and see what she's up to." The sponge quickly changed the topic of the conversation so he didn't attract attention to himself and the sea star.

The two friends walked away from the neighborhood.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick walked towards Mr. Krabs' anchor and stood before the front door.

The sea star looked up and noticed that Squidward was climbing up the anchor towards the window of Mr. Krabs' bedroom. "Hi, Squidward!" He waved towards the octopus.

"SSHH! What did I tell you?!" SpongeBob whispered and put a hand over Patrick's mouth.

"Huh?" Squidward turned around. He saw his two neighbors and became surprised. "W-woah!" His hands slipped off the anchor.

**THUD**

Squidward fell and landed on the ground. He lost his temper and stood up. "Can't you leave me alone for once?! What're you two doing?" The octopus was taking his 'alien' hunt very seriously.

"We're hunting Mr. Krabs. You're doing it too?" SpongeBob asked.

"Yes I was. Now hunt someone else and leave me alone." Squidward tried to climb up the anchor once again.

"Squid, you don't have to do that. Just watch what I do." Patrick backed away by several steps and ran towards the front door.

**SLAM**

The sea star barged the door open. "See? It's way more easier this way."

"I thought that was locked." Squidward jumped down and entered the anchor.

SpongeBob entered the anchor as well.

S-S-S-S-S

"Ahoy there, lads! Up a bit late to be playing pirate, aren't ye?" Mr. Krabs stopped reading an old newspaper, stood up from his couch, and gave the three neighbors a funny look. The crustacean then made a pirate laugh.

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward pumped their guns and aimed them at Mr. Krabs.

Mr. Krabs gulped nervously at the sight of the weapons. "Wait! Don't shoot!" He held his hands out towards the neighbors.

An awkward pause.

"Okay, okay, shoot me, but don't take my money!" He protected the pocket that had his wallet inside by covering it with one of his hands.

"We don't want your money, moon man!" SpongeBob had a solemn expression.

"Or your low paychecks!" Squidward smirked at his own comment.

The three neighbors pulled the triggers of their guns at the same time. Three gray nets came out and enveloped Mr. Krabs.

The crab collapsed to the floor. "This is mutiny against your captain! All of you deserve to walk the plank!" Mr. Krabs struggled to move since the net constrained the motion of his limbs.

"But I don't work in the Krusty Krab." Patrick pointed out a flaw in what Mr. Krabs said.

"It doesn't matter. I can still call the police!" Mr. Krabs crawled towards his shell-phone.

"Not so fast, alien." SpongeBob picked Mr. Krabs up and carried him on his shoulder.

Squidward made a sincere smile. Almost nothing was more sweeter to him than an act of revenge.

The three exited the anchor.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened the side door of the rocket and threw Mr. Krabs into the aircraft. "Who should we target next?"

"I know one other person that we can capture. Follow me if you want to know where he lives." Squidward walked in a certain direction.

SpongeBob and Patrick followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Several more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The three neighbors stood before a tower-like mansion that looked similar to Squidward's house.

"Wooooowww. The aliens sure know how to make nice houses." SpongeBob looked at the mansion with wonder.

Squidward walked towards a nearby window. "Patrick, you can handle this." He pointed at the window.

"No, no, allow me." SpongeBob walked to the window and made a light karate chop.

**SHHAAATTEER**

The window shattered into several pieces.

Squidward and Patrick jumped into the building.

SpongeBob jumped into the building as well.

S-S-S-S-S

The three were in a highly fancy living room. The couches, tables, TVs, and paintings on the the walls were all extremely expensive. Most of the paintings depicted someone that looked very similar to Squidward but had a large unibrow. There were even a few statues of him throughout the living room.

SpongeBob and Patrick's eyes widened and they stared at the room with wonder.

A long pause.

"Snap out of it." Squidward snapped his fingers.

"R-right." SpongeBob shook back to his senses. He scanned the room and found a set of stairs. "Let's go up there." The sponge pointed at the stairs.

The three neighbors ran up the stairs and passed through several floors.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward stopped running up the stairs and looked through the hallway. He held his hand out towards the two other neighbors. "I think the bedroom is around here." The octopus whispered.

"Squid, who is this guy? Is he a relative?" SpongeBob spoke a question that was stuck in his mind.

"He's called Squilliam Fancyson. Me and him have been rivals since high school." Squidward walked across the hallway.

"Capturing him makes sense now." Patrick nodded, he understood what Squidward said.

**CRRREEEEAK**

Squidward slowly opened a door and peeked inside. It wasn't a bedroom and there was nobody inside. "Go check the other rooms." He whispered towards SpongeBob and Patrick.

SpongeBob and Patrick opened several doors in the hallway until the sea star opened a certain door and found the bedroom. "Guys, I've found it." Patrick whispered loudly and signaled with his hand for the two other neighbors to come closer to him.

The sponge and the octopus walked over to Patrick.

Squidward peeked inside the room and saw Squiliam sleeping inside a king-sized bed. "It's him alright." He pumped his gun, aimed it at Squiliam, and pulled the trigger. A gray net came from the gun and enveloped Squiliam. The sleeping octopus didn't move or wake up.

Patrick picked up Squilliam and carried him on his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

The three neighbors quickly exited the hallway and ran down the stairs.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

They entered the living room and ran towards the open and broken window. The three neighbors dove through the window but Patrick was careful to not drop Squilliam to the ground.

The sponge, the sea star, and the octopus walked towards their neighborhood.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob opened the side door of the rocket and threw Squilliam into the rocket. The captured people inside the aircraft moved around as a desperate attempt to escape the rocket.

"Look at them squirming around in there." SpongeBob shook his head.

"Eww, gross." Patrick found the aliens to be disgusting.

"Well, there's plenty more where those came from." SpongeBob pumped his gun and walked away from the neighborhood.

"I think I'm gonna call this a day." Squidward opened the bottom door of the rocket. "I'm sick of this nonsense and I need my beauty sleep." He entered the rocket and closed the door.

"C'ya later, Squid." Patrick smiled and followed SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAAAAK**

SpongeBob opened the door. He and Patrick entered Mrs. Puff's classroom. The two were inside the boating school.

Mrs. Puff was sitting in her desk and was grading her students' tests and classwork. She noticed that SpongeBob and Patrick were in the classroom and were walking towards her. "SpongeBob, what are you doing here so late?" She gave SpongeBob a funny look.

SpongeBob aimed the gun at Mrs. Puff and pulled the trigger. A gray net came out of the gun and enveloped the pufferfish.

"Whatever this is..." Mrs. Puff spoke while she was in the net. She inflated to a larger size. "...it's going on your permanent record!" The pufferfish spoke in a deep voice.

Patrick picked her up and the two best friends exited the room.

S-S-S-S-S

Ten minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were standing in front of the Chum Bucket.

"SpongeBob, can you handle this alone? I think my hands are full." Patrick looked up to the inflated Mrs. Puff that he was carrying.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob walked towards the double door of the restaurant.

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

The sponge entered the Chum Bucket.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob tiptoed across the dining room of the restaurant. Nobody except for the sponge was inside the room. It was extremely cold; the air conditioner was turned on throughout the Chum Bucket.

**CRRRREEEEEAAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob opened the double door and entered Plankton's laboratory.

S-S-S-S-S

"Huh?" Plankton stopped typing on his computer and turned around. He saw SpongeBob in an astronaut suit while holding a pop gun. The plankton was documenting his latest exploits to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. The paper-mâché heart that SpongeBob had given to him on Valentine's Day was laying near the keyboard of the large computer. "SpongeBob?"

An awkward pause.

"Uhh..." Plankton looked at the paper-mâché heart and walked towards it. He picked it up. "SpongeBob, I want to tell you something..." The plankton thought really hard about what he was going to say next.

"You're trying to make me feel bad, eh? Nice try, alien." SpongeBob didn't fall for the 'alien's' 'trick' and pumped his gun. He aimed it at Plankton and pulled the trigger.

A gray net came out of the gun and enveloped Plankton. The plankton dropped to the floor. "WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" Plankton shook furiously so he could break free from the net.

SpongeBob picked up Plankton and walked towards the exit of the laboratory.

"Oh no you don't." Karen's electronic voice was heard. A laser gun came out of the ceiling and aimed at SpongeBob.

"Yikes!" SpongeBob quickly dove to the computer and turned the switch from 'ON' to 'OFF'.

Karen's screen turned blank and she shut down. The laser gun retracted to the ceiling.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick had captured several more Bikini Bottomites. They were trying to fit them through the side door of the rocket.

"SpongeBob, I think we might have to make a second trip." Patrick pushed the 'aliens' into the rocket with all the strength he could muster.

"There's no time for that! Just push harder." SpongeBob was pushing the citizens into the rocket with his shoulder. He eventually squeezed them into the rocket.

Sandy landed near the two friends and turned off her jetpack. She had seen the crashed rocket and had flown towards it. "SpongeBob, what are y'all doing? I can't turn my back on you for two seconds without you causing a whole mess of trouble. Why look at ya, bagging up all your friends and neighbors just like they were a fresh crop of hickory smoked sausages. You darned turned my little science experiment into a disaster. You two oughta should be ashamed of-" She was ranting but got interrupted.

SpongeBob and Patrick pumped the guns, aimed them at Sandy, and pulled the triggers. Gray nets came from the guns and enveloped Sandy.

"Nice try, Sandy." SpongeBob smirked and thought that he made a clever joke.

"Or should I say Ms. Alien Pants." Patrick joined the fun and laughed.

"Aliens? Is that what this is about?" Sandy fell to the ground and couldn't move because the net constrained her movement. She was in disbelief that SpongeBob and Patrick captured several citizens of Bikini Bottom over a severe paranoia of aliens.

SpongeBob and Patrick picked the squirrel up and threw her into the rocket.

"This isn't another planet, we're still in Bikini Bo-" Sandy was saying something but got interrupted.

**SLAM**

SpongeBob closed the side door of the rocket. "It just goes to show you that you can't trust anyone." He looked at Patrick.

A long pause. The two were staring at each other.

SpongeBob pumped his gun. "So, you were an alien all the time and you didn't even tell me!"

Patick pumped his gun. "Well, I didn't even know!"

The two friends' paranoia over the aliens worsened as they captured each citizen. It led to the point where they were going to shoot each other in fear of the other being an alien.

"Yeah, well, I got you now." SpongeBob aimed his gun at Patrick.

"Oh, but it's not you that's got me, it's..." Patrick aimed the gun in the wrong direction. He pulled the trigger and a gray net came out of the gun. The net enveloped the sea star. "...me that's got me."

"Boy, I can't wait to see the look on Sandy's face when she sees this!" SpongeBob picked up the 'alien' and walked towards the rocket.

The faint sounds of police sirens were heard.

SpongeBob stopped walking. "Looks like the aliens brought reinforcements." He dropped the 'alien' and pumped his gun.

A pause.

Several police cars drove towards SpongeBob and surrounded him. SWAT team members came out of the vehicles with ballistic shields and actual guns. The officers aimed the guns directly at SpongeBob. Leashed police worms came out of the cars and barked at SpongeBob.

"Uh-oh." SpongeBob dropped his pop gun and put his hands up.


	15. F U N

**Chapter 15: F. U. N.**

* * *

**CRRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward exited the courtroom; the three weren't wearing their astronaut suits. They were brought to the court on the same night that they captured several citizens of Bikini Bottom. The judge had given them the option to either pay a large fine or go to jail. The three neighbors were given these options because they hadn't injured any of their victims. They obviously chose to pay the large fine so they didn't go to jail.

"Even though I had to pay nearly a fortune, it's still better than getting beat up by inmates in prison." Squidward wasn't too thrilled to pay a large amount of money but was relieved that he wouldn't have to waste a chunk of his life in jail.

"Imagine if you and the thugs who kidnapped you were in the same jail." Patrick spoke his thoughts out loud.

Squidward shivered at the thought.

SpongeBob was oddly quiet, he was deep in thought.

**CRRRREEEAK**

**SLAM**

The three neighbors opened the large double door and exited the courthouse.

S-S-S-S-S

They walked down a large set of steps.

Patrick looked at SpongeBob and noticed that the sponge was staring into space. "Umm... SpongeBob, are you okay?" He waved his hand towards his best friend so he could grab the sponge's attention.

"I'm thinking about something, Pat." SpongeBob spoke but didn't show any emotion in his voice or facial expression.

"What're you thinking about? Is there something wrong?" Patrick scratched his head.

"I think I should go now." SpongeBob walked down the steps with haste and jogged towards elsewhere. He soon vanished from the horizon.

Squidward felt a sense of déjà vu.

A pause.

He suddenly remembered that SpongeBob had acted this way more than two weeks ago. "This day can't get any stranger."

"Today was awesome! We went to the moon, visited a strange planet that looked like ours, and captured aliens!" Patrick made a wide smile. He had temporarily forgotten about the events that had occured several minutes ago.

Squidward facepalmed.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked towards the Chum Bucket.

**CRRREEEEEAAK**

**SLAM**

He opened the double door and entered the restaurant.

S-S-S-S-S

He walked through the dining room and entered Plankton's laboratory.

S-S-S-S-S

Karen was still turned off and Plankton wasn't inside the room, the plankton was still trying to get himself out of the net that he was caught in and was inside Sandy's rocket with the other caught Bikini Bottomites. SpongeBob picked up the paper-mâché heart that Plankton dropped on the floor. He felt remorse for capturing Plankton and frowned. The sponge stared at the heart for several seconds and then slowly turned around. He walked towards the double door and exited the room. SpongeBob eventually exited the Chum Bucket

S-S-S-S-S

Three days later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was the afternoon. Lunch was being served at the Krusty Krab and numerous customers were waiting for or eating their meals.

C-Creak

S-Slam

Plankton pushed the front doors of the Krusty Krab ajar and entered the restaurant, a metal backpack was strapped to his back. "Heheheh." He made an evil smile as he saw someone sitting down on a table with a fresh Krabby Patty. The plankton ran as fast as he could so the customers wouldn't notice him. He climbed up the table and snatched the Krabby Patty. He jumped to the floor and sprinted towards the front doors of the restaurant.

"Hey!" The customer stood up and chased the burger.

Several sirens in the restaurant blared and red lights flashed throughout the Krusty Krab. All the customers in the dining room screamed and ran around the restaurant in terror.

The glass windows and doors that led to the outside world were blocked off by sturdy metal shields.

"That won't stop me!" Plankton whispered loudly as he ran across the dining room while holding the Krabby Patty. The security system of the restaurant had detected the tiny plankton and the metal shields covering the doors and windows prevented him from escaping the Krusty Krab unless he could find a way to penetrate them.

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs barged the door to his office open and walked into the dining room. "Can you spot him, Mr. Squidward?" The crab looked at the octopus who was sitting in the boat with the cash register.

Squidward took out a telescope that was in the boat and looked through it. He spotted Plankton running towards the front doors of the Krusty Krab with a Krabby Patty. "Down there, sir!" He pointed at the tiny plankton.

CTHUNG

A laser gun came out of Plankton's metal backpack.

**ZZZAAAAAAAAAAP**

A green laser came out of the gun and traced a small hole through one of front doors and the metal shield covering it. The laser gun retracted to the backpack and Plankton dove through the hole. "Finally, victory is mine! I win, I win, I win!" The plankton made an evil laugh, he successfully escaped the Krusty Krab..

"He got away, sir." Squidward put the telescope away.

"No! He's finally stolen my secret recipe!" Mr. Krabs' eyes bugged out.

"I'll handle this!" SpongeBob was looking through the ordering window and jumped into the dining room.

Mr. Krabs took out a remote and pressed a red button.

The metal shields covering the Krusty Krab retracted.

SpongeBob ran towards the double door.

**CRRREEEEAK**

**SLAM**

The sponge exited the Krusty Krab and chased Plankton.

Plankton noticed this and ran even faster. Two rockets came out of the backpack and the metal backpack became a jetpack. Fire came out of the rockets and Plankton flew above the ground. The laser gun came out of the backpack once again.

**ZZZZAAAAAAAAAP**

The gun shot a bright green laser towards SpongeBob.

SpongeBob nimbly dodged the laser.

**Z-Z-Z-ZZZZAAAAAAAAAP**

The gun shot four green lasers towards SpongeBob.

SpongeBob jumped four times and dodged each one. The sponge sprinted and nearly catched up with Plankton.

Plankton made the jetpack reach its fastest speed and he flew towards the downtown area of Bikini Bottom.

SpongeBob eyes the small Plankton and continued to chase him.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob looked through a large crowd of pedestrians with his binoculars. "Aha!" He eventually spotted a Krabby Patty walking through the crowd. The sponge put his binoculars away and chased Plankton. The two ran through an alley and entered another neighborhood.

The metal backpack became a jetpack once again. Fire came out of the two rockets and Plankton flew to the roof of a tall building.

"Hey!" SpongeBob shook his fist and scaled the building. He eventually reached the rooftop. "Okay, that's far enough!" He scanned the rooftop in search of Plankton. "Huh?" The sponge noticed that Plankton jumped off the building and flew towards elsewhere. "Tartar sauce!" SpongeBob ran across the rooftop and jumped to the ground. He took the employee hat off his head and used it as a balloon to break his fall. He gently landed on the ground and continued to chase the tiny Plankton.

Creak

Slam

Plankton flew towards and entered a certain store within a blink of an eye. A sign above the store said 'MAGIC SHOP'.

SpongeBob didn't know where Plankton went. He scratched his head and walked down the street in search of the small plankton. He eventually walked past the Magic Shop.

CREEEAK

Slam

Plankton exited the Magic Shop while still holding the Krabby Patty. He bought a pair of glasses that had a fake nose and fake eyebrows glued to it. He had put the glasses on top of the Krabby Patty so he could use it as a disguise.

SpongeBob turned around and looked down. He noticed the Krabby Patty 'wearing' the glasses. "Have you seen a Krabby Patty?" His credulousness got the better of him. "It's about this tall and.." The sponge put his hand near the ground so he could show how tall the Krabby Patty was. He looked up and saw the sign of the Magic Shop. "Wow, a magic shop! Are you a magician? One time, I saw this magician and he did this magic trick and then he told us, If you believe in yourself and with a tiny pinch of magic, all of your dreams can come true." The sponge spoke about a childhood memory that popped up in his mind.

Plankton gritted his teeth. "Argh! I can't take it!" He became frustrated and tossed the Krabby Patty to the ground.

SpongeBob gasped. "Plankton! It's you!"

"Yes, and after all these years, I thought I was the master of torture. But that..." Plankton sat on the ground, folded his arms, and thought about what he was going to say next for several seconds. It was difficult for him to express his emotions through words.

A pause.

"...that just wasn't fair! Here. Take the stupid patty, I don't want the secret recipe anymore." Plankton stood up and threw the Krabby Patty towards SpongeBob.

SpongeBob's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He clumsily caught the burger and was in total disbelief at what Plankton said.

"I guess my restaurant will never be as good as the Krusty Krab. You don't know what it's like to be a loser." Plankton's eye moistened and he put his hands over his face. He began to weep silently.

"Aww, cheer up, Plankton. I think you're a winner." SpongeBob smiled. He couldn't bear to watch the plankton cry without doing something to cheer him up.

"Wh-what did you say?" Plankton stopped crying and his eye widened. He slowly looked up and made eye contact with SpongeBob.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs walked up to SpongeBob. The two were trying their best to follow SpongeBob ever since he started to chase Plankton. Police officer Rob and a nearby citizen walked up to the scene as well.

"I said, you're a-" SpongeBob was saying something but got interrupted.

"LOSER!" Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Officer Rob, and the citizen yelled at the same time and pointed at Plankton.

"How does it feel to be the most hated thing in Bikini Bottom, Plankton? It hurts, doesn't it? I know!" Squidward smirked.

"Yeah and since I forgot to do it during the last time this boy was fighting crime, we're going to make this boy honorary town rookie of the day." Officer Rob pinned a large red ribbon to SpongeBob's shirt.

"For he's a jolly good rookie, for he's a jolly good rookie, for he's a jolly good rookie." Squidward, Mr. Krabs, the citizen, and Officer Rob surrounded SpongeBob and sang. "For he's a jolly good rooookieeeee!" They threw SpongeBob to the air.

'I'll bet if Plankton had just one friend, he wouldn't be such a meanie.' SpongeBob thought about Plankton as he flew in the air. The sponge eventually fell down and was caught by the four people.

Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Officer Rob, and the citizen dropped SpongeBob to the ground and walked away.

SpongeBob looked at Plankton and took out the paper-mâché heart. "C'ya later." He smiled, handed the heart to Plankton, and walked away.

Plankton's eye widened in shock as he looked at the heart. He stared at if for several seconds and then walked back to the Chum Bucket.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was 6:00 PM.

SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs exited the Krusty Krab. The crustacean locked the front doors of the restaurant with his key. Squidward walked towards his home while SpongeBob walked towards the Chum Bucket.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

SpongeBob knocked on the double door of the Chum Bucket.

"A customer?" Plankton's voice was heard from inside.

**C-CRRREEEEEAAAK**

Plankton opened the double door. "Our special today is chum..." He looked up and made eye contact with SpongeBob. "...balaya."

"Hi, Mr. Plankton." SpongeBob waved.

"Haven't you degraded me enough for one day?" Plankton raised his brow.

"No. I mean... I want you to come out and play with me." SpongeBob smirked.

"What?" Plankton became shocked at what SpongeBob said. He hadn't 'played' since he was a child and had been trying to get the Krabby Patty secret formula for so long that he no longer had any other hobbies.

"Play. With. Me." SpongeBob tried to speak clearly.

"You know how to induce thermonuclear fusion?" Plankton didn't understand many colloquial terms because he stays in his laboratory for entire days in near-isolation.

"No, but I like to go jelly-" SpongeBob got interrupted.

**S-SLAM**

Plankton closed the double door.

S-S-S-S-S

"That naive cube! How long must I suffer this?" Plankton stomped into his laboratory. He couldn't bear to talk with SpongeBob for another minute.

"You're not letting him leave, are you? Can't you see? This is the perfect opportunity for revenge!" Karen tried to give Plankton some new ideas for stealing the Krabby Patty secret formula.

"Elaborate." Plankton folded his arms.

Karen showed a digital image of SpongeBob and a Krabby Patty on her screen. "Befriend the sponge, then when the time is just right, take the Krabby Patty!" She explained her plan.

"Take the Krabby Patty?" Plankton slowly made an evil smile.

"Get moving, genius, don't let him get away." Karen commanded Plankton.

Plankton turned around and quickly exited the laboratory.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEEAAAAK**

Plankton opened the double door. SpongeBob was still standing in front of the Chum Bucket, he was waiting for Plankton to come back. "Alright, SpongeBob, I'll play your little game." The plankton was smiling.

"Great!" SpongeBob put Plankton on his hand and ran towards Jellyfish Fields. "Last one to the fields is a rotten clam!"

The two vanished from the horizon.

Mr. Krabs was watching the sponge and the plankton and decided to follow them.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Plankton were in Jellyfish Fields. The sun was setting and the sky was a dark orange.

"So, I get the big net and you get the little net." SpongeBob took out two jellyfishing nets and handed the smaller one to Plankton.

Plankton struggled to hold his jellyfishing net, it was numerous times his size.

"What happens after we eat them?" Plankton was curious about the sport of jellyfishing.

"You don't eat 'em, you catch 'em, like this!" SpongeBob caught a jellyfish with his net in only a few seconds. "Like that." He pointed at the jellyfish inside his net.

"And?" Plankton knew that SpongeBob hadn't explained everything about the sport.

"And then you throw them back." SpongeBob threw the jellyfish back into the air with his net. "But watch out for the stingers! They'll zap you."

"Stingers?" Plankton fantasized about himself sitting on a giant jellyfish and ruling Bikini Bottom thanks to the power of the jellyfish's stingers. "All knees will bow to Plankton! Hail, Plankton! I win, I win!" He unintentionally spoke his thoughts out loud.

"It's not about winning, it's about fun!" SpongeBob made a wide smile.

"What's that?" Plankton scratched his head, he forgot what the term 'fun' meant.

"Fun is when you... fun is... it's like... it's kinda... sort of like a..." SpongeBob struggled to explain what 'fun' was.

An awkward pause.

A lightbulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. "What is fun? Let me spell it for you." He began to sing. "F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, N is for anywhere, anytime at all, down here in the deep blue sea."

"F is for fire that burns down the whole town, U is for uranium... bombs! N is for no survivors, when you-" Plankton sang his interpretation of the song but got interrupted.

"Plankton! Those things aren't what fun is all about." SpongeBob shook his head. "Now, do it like this. "F is for friends who do stuff to-" The sponge sang the song once again but got interrupted.

"Never! That's completely idiotic!" Plankton folded his arms and shook his head.

"Here, let me help you." SpongeBob pointed at himself. "F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, try it!" He pointed at Plankton.

"N is for anywhere, anytime at all!" Plankton sang.

"Down here in the deep blue sea." The two sang the song at the same time.

"Wait, I don't understand this, I feel all tingly inside. Should we stop?" Plankton wasn't used to feeling this strange emotion that they called joy.

"No! That's how you're supposed to feel!" SpongeBob smiled widely.

"Well, I like it. Let's do it again!" Plankton slowly moved his lips and made a smile.

"Okay!" SpongeBob made a thumbs up.

"F is for frolic through all the flowers. U is for ukelele. N is nose-picking, chewing gum, and sand-licking, here with my best buddy. Hahahahahahahaha!" SpongeBob and Plankton sang the song at the same time. The two frolicked across the grassy plain.

"Umm, SpongeBob?" Plankton wanted to ask a question that popped up in his mind.

"Yeah?" SpongeBob looked down and made eye contact with Plankton.

"I know this is so sudden but... can we be..." Plankton hesitated for a few seconds. "...friends?" He smiled nervously and took out the paper-mâché heart.

"Sure... buddy." SpongeBob grinned widely as he tried to make a joke.

They both held the heart and continued to joyfully run across Jellyfish Fields.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs was watching the two by looking through a telescope.

"Arr, mutiny!" He frowned and wasn't pleased by what he was seeing.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

"And after that we frolicked through the flowers and then we-" Plankton was talking to Karen about what he did with SpongeBob in Jellyfish Fields. He was hiding behind a small metal table and was putting on something that he bought from a nearby store a few minutes ago.

"Sounds like fun." Karen interrupted Plankton by speaking.

"Well, the really fun part was when we-" Plankton continued to tell his story but got interrupted.

"Where's the Krabby Patty?" Karen asked Plankton a crucial question.

"The what?" Plankton had forgotten about the goal of his mission because he formed a new friendship with SpongeBob and that friendship became a major distraction.

Karen showed a digital image of a Krabby Patty on her screen. "The Krabby Patty, remember?"

"You can't rush these things, you know." Plankton made an excuse for the failure of his mission.

"You're forgetting about the mission!" Karen stated what wouldn't have been obvious for Plankton. She showed a digital image of the Krabby Patty secret formula on her screen.

"What are you talking about?" Plankton's mind was filled with numerous thoughts that weren't about Krabby Patties. He was thinking of countless possibilities for the activities he could do with SpongeBob tomorrow.

"You're going native, Plankton! Look at yourself!" A metal arm came from the ceiling and picked up Plankton by his antennae. Karen made the metal arm lift Plankton from the table. It revealed that Plankton was wearing miniature squarepants.

"What?" Plankton shrugged his shoulders. "Wouldn't people recognize me and SpongeBob as friends if we wore the same clothes?"

The metal arm dropped Plankton to the floor. It picked up the squarepants and took it off of Plankton. "You can still be friends with SpongeBob but don't wear those clothes. Remember that the goal of this mission is to get a Krabby Patty." Karen reminded Plankton of his original reason to become friends with SpongeBob.

"Alright, alright, sheesh." Plankton stood up and leaped to the computer. He began to type what he did with SpongeBob that day in his journal.

S-S-S-S-S

The next day...

S-S-S-S-S

It was the afternoon.

SpongeBob was flipping some Krabby Patties inside the kitchen. A fan was plugged in and had been turned on. It was located near the grill and blew air towards SpongeBob's face. The sponge thought that the kitchen was too hot to work comfortably so he searched through the kitchen until he found the fan.

A photo flew out of SpongeBob's pocket due to the fan blowing air towards the sponge's body. The photo flew through the ordering window and past and above Squidward's head. The two employees didn't noticed the photo since they were focused on their jobs.

It slipped under the door to Mr. Krabs' office.

S-S-S-S-S

The photo slid across the floor and stopped before Mr. Krabs' desk.

Mr. Krabs looked up from the money he was counting and saw the photo. He stood up and picked up the photo. The crustacean looked at the photo closely and noticed that it showed SpongeBob and Plankton smiling and playing in Jellyfish Fields. The word 'FUN' was written by pencil on a white tag which stuck to the bottom of the photo so as to label it. 'Just as I feared." Mr. Krabs made a solemn face.

**CRRRREEEEEAAAAAK**

**SLAM**

He exited his office.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs walked to the door to the kitchen and opened it. He stepped inside the kitchen and signaled for SpongeBob to come out with one of his hands.

"Okay." SpongeBob flipped the last patty on the grill and made the last Krabby Patty. He put the burger on the plate and handed it to Squidward through the ordering window. He and Mr. Krabs exited the kitchen.

"I haven't seen Plankton in a while. He must be scheming." Mr. Krabs pretended to think and sat down in a table.

"Who knows? Maybe he's changed." SpongeBob smiled and sat in the same table with Mr. Krabs.

"Who knows? I think you knows!" Mr. Krabs took out the photo and showed it to SpongeBob.

"He's changed, I tell you!" SpongeBob was truly thinking that Plankton turned over a new leaf.

S-S-S-S-S

Creak

Slam

"Sponge-buddy! Yoohoo!" Plankton exited the Chum Bucket and walked towards the Krusty Krab. He was searching for SpongeBob who was his new friend.

S-S-S-S-S

**C-CRREEEAK**

**S-SLAM**

Plankton opened the double door and entered the Krusty Krab.

SpongeBob saw Plankton, grinned, stood up from his seat, and walked towards the plankton."Plankton-buddy! Let's go! I forgot this is a no friend zone!" He turned around and glared at Mr. Krabs.

Mr. Krabs entered the kitchen and came back with a fan and a spare Krabby Patty that was on a plate. "SpongeBob, may I speak to you in private?" The crab looked down and made eye contact with Plankton. "You won't mind if I set this here, will you?" He put the Krabby Patty on the table. Mr. Krabs connected the fan to an outlet that was on the large mast and turned the fan on. He moved the fan until it faced the Krabby Patty. It blew air on the Krabby Patty and the smell of the delicious burger wafted in the air.

**CRRREEEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs entered the kitchen and watched Plankton through the ordering window.

"What's this all about, Mr. Krabs?" SpongeBob whispered to Mr. Krabs' ear.

"He's a thief. Look at the lust in his eye, he's-" Mr. Krabs spoke quietly so Plankton couldn't hear him but got interrupted. It was extremely obvious by now that he had a heavy suspicion that Plankton is up to a new scheme.

"Why cant you just accept our friendship?!" SpongeBob was beginning to lose his temper, it was something he almost rarely does.

"You're friends with Plankton?" Squidward turned around and gave SpongeBob a funny look. He overheard the conversation that was occurring behind him.

"Yep." SpongeBob nodded.

Squidward laughed by honking his nose. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Plankton is just after my recipe. I'll prove it to you." Mr. Krabs exited the kitchen and walked up to Plankton. "Ah, you must be hungry after that long walk over here." He looked down at Plankton.

"Oh, yes, but I'm saving my appetite for some popcorn at the movies." Plankton smiled.

"Uhh... suit yourself." Mr. Krabs moved the Krabby Patty towards Plankton by pushing the plate. He put the fan behind the Krabby Patfy and it pushed the smell of the burger towards Plankton.

**CRRREEEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited the kitchen and stomped towards Mr. Krabs, he was irritated at the crab's behavior. "We've had enough of your little tests, Mr. Krabs!" He turned the fan off and picked up Plankton by his antennae. "Come on Plankton, let's get out of here." The sponge dropped Plankton to one of his hands. He took the employee hat off his head and put it away.

**C-CRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

He and the Plankton exited the restaurant.

"Maybe the lad was right. Maybe Plankton's gone straight." Mr. Krabs grabbed the Krabby Patty that was on the plate and ate it. "Or maybe scallops will fly out of my pants!" Mr. Krabs scrambled to the double door.

S-S-S-S-S

**C-CRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Mr. Krabs exited the Krusty Krab. "Hold on there laddie, I'm a-comin'!" He followed SpongeBob and Plankton.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward groaned. The moment that Mr. Krabs left the Krusty Krab, he knew that he will temporarily be both fry cook and cashier.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Plankton entered the sponge's neighborhood. The sponge saw Patrick standing in front of his rock and doing nothing so he decided to walk up to him.

"How's it going, buddy?" Patrick smirked.

"Hey, Pat. This is my new friend." SpongeBob pointed at Plankton.

"What's your name?" Patrick became curious and looked at the plankton that was standing on SpongeBob's hand.

"Sheldon J. Plankton." Plankton told Patrick his full name.

Patrick chuckled. "No, no, I didn't ask for your full name. I was just asking for a name to call you." The sea star smiled widely.

"Oh. Umm... Plankton." The signs of the plankton's isolation inside his laboratory were quite obvious. Some of the things that he had said to people were awkward and saying his full name to Patrick was one of them.

"Hi, Plankton." Patrick waved.

SpongeBob giggled.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Plankton made eye contact with SpongeBob and asked a question.

"Yep. He's a best friend of mine." SpongeBob grinned.

"Oh." Plankton nodded.

An awkward pause.

"Where do you live?" Plankton still had a few questions in his mind.

"I live right there." SpongeBob pointed at his pineapple. "Me, Pat, and another friend of mine called Squid are neighbors."

Plankton's eye bugged out as he saw the sponge's house. 'That explains a lot.' He thought that that odd choice for a house showed a large portion of SpongeBob's personality.

"So, what should we do? I was thinking that me and my new friend should do some other activity before we go to the movies." SpongeBob couldn't decide on a fun activity to do with Plankton.

"How about bubble blowing?" Patrick took out a bubble wand and a bottle of bubble soap.

"Good idea." SpongeBob took out his bubble wand and bottle of soap. He looked down at Plankton who was on his hand. "Bubble blowing may sound silly but it's actually really fun." The sponge dipped his wand into the bottle of soap. "Watch." He inhaled and blew into the wand. A bubble that looked like a wheel came out of the wand and flew in the air. "You can't blow bubbles like the one that I just blew right away though. It's gotta take some practice."

Patrick searched through the memories in his mind until he found the right thing to say. "As they say, practice makes perfect. It's how I became good at bubble blowing." The sea star's intelligence had slightly increased, he remembered something and said something appropriate. He dipped his wand into the bottle of soap, inhaled, and blew into the wand. A bubble that looked like a bird came out of the wand and flew in the air.

"I think I know how to blow bubbles now." Plankton had watched the two best friends blow bubbles and wanted to blow bubbles exactly as they did.

"You wanna try?" SpongeBob looked at Plankton.

"Yeah." Plankton nodded and felt confident in his abilities.

"Alright." SpongeBob put the hole of the bubble wand in front of Plankton.

Plankton walked towards the wand and made a deep inhale. He then blew into the wand with all the air he could muster. A small bubble came out of the wand but was stuck halfway through its formation. Plankton was leaning forward as blew into the wand and tripped on the edge of the hole of the wand. He fell into the bubble and stood up. The plankton tried to get out of the bubble but slipped and fell into the bubble because of its slippery surface. "I could use some help here."

"I'll help you. That's what friends do." SpongeBob put his index finger into the hole of the wand so he could help Plankton escape the bubble.

Plankton held on to SpongeBob's finger.

SpongeBob tried to pull his finger out of the wand but realized that his finger was stuck inside the hole. "Uh oh."

Patrick saw what was happening and wanted to assist the sponge in pulling his finger out of the wand so he grabbed the sponge's arm. The sea star pulled his friend's arm and got the sponge's finger out of the hole with ease. However, air rushed into the bubble due to the quickness of SpongeBob's finger getting out of the wand; Patrick had pulled the sponge's arm too hard. Plankton slipped and fell deeper into the now bigger bubble.

The bubble came out of the wand and floated in the air.

"HEELLLP!" Plankton began to panic.

"I know what to do!" Patrick inhaled and blew into the wand. A giant bubble came out of the wand and floated in the air. He jumped and squeezed into the bubble. Patrick's bubble flew towards Plankton's bubble and the two bubbles fused together to form an even bigger bubble.

Patrick jumped up and down so he could lower the bubble to the ground. He bounced around the inside of the bubble instead and couldn't make the bubble reach the ground that was below them. "Umm... SpongeBob, can you help us out here?"

SpongeBob stabbed the bubble with his wand so he could pop it. He accidently squeezed himself into the bubble and became trapped with Patrick and Plankton.

"Don't worry, lads! I'll save you!" Mr. Krabs ran towards the bubble. He had followed SpongeBob and Plankton and watched the event unfold. He snapped his claws on the bubble.

**POP**

The bubble popped.

**T-THUD**

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Plankton fell to the ground.

"Mr. Krabs?" SpongeBob stood up and raised his brow.

Mr. Krabs ran towards elsewhere and vanished from the horizon. He didn't want SpongeBob and Plankton to realize that he was following and watching them.

"Oh well." SpongeBob shrugged his shoulders.

"Shouldn't we go to the movies?" Plankton stood up. He jumped behind SpongeBob and took something out of the yellow square's pocket without the sponge noticing. The plankton then quickly put it away.

"You wanna come with us, Pat?" SpongeBob looked at Patrick.

"Why not?" Patrick stood up and smiled.

The three walked towards a theater.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Plankton entered one of the movie rooms in the theater. The sea star bought a bag of popcorn and was holding it. They sat in the seats that were in the front row.

S-S-S-S-S

An employee changed the movie that was being displayed on the projector as the audience walked into and sat in the movie room. There was a somewhat small window that was adjacent to the projector. He could see the people inside the other and larger room through the window.

A long pause.

The employee was drowsy and slowly fell asleep.

Another pause.

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

Mr. Krabs slowly opened the door and entered the small room. The coast was clear.

S-S-S-S-S

An obese man sat on Plankton's seat and squished Plankton, he didn't notice the tiny plankton.

"I sure like sequels, Plankton." SpongeBob was paying attention to the movie that was on the large screen.

"Uhh..." Patrick stopped eating the popcorn that he bought and looked to the side and noticed the obese man sitting in Plankton's seat.

SpongeBob looked down so he could make eye contact with Plankton but saw the obese man instead. "Hey!" He tapped the obese man's shoulder.

"What?" The man was slightly annoyed that someone interrupted him while watching the movie.

"You're sitting on my friend." SpongeBob tried to tell the man to get off the plankton's seat in the most polite way possible.

The obese man sat to the edge of the seat to see if anyone was sitting there. He squished Plankton even more in the process.

SpongeBob grabbed some of the popcorn that Patrick was eating and threw it to the far side of the movie room.

The obese man stood up from his seat and ran towards the popcorn so he can eat it.

"Thanks for that, friend." Plankton looked up at SpongeBob and smiled.

"Sure thing, pal." SpongeBob smirked.

Patrick ate the rest of his popcorn in one gulp.

**BUUURRRRRRP**

Patrick made a loud burp and leaned in his seat. He then tried his best to watch the movie.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs opened the small window that was near the projector. He then moved the table that the projector was on to the back of the room. The crustacean stood in front of the projector and his shadow blocked most of the screen that was showing the movie.

S-S-S-S-S

"SpongeBob, the movie is broken." Patrick pointed at the blocked screen.

"That shadow strangely looks like a boss of mine." SpongeBob narrowed his eyes.

"LISTEN UP!" Mr. Krabs yelled through the window.

"It's Krabs alright." Plankton became grumpy.

SpongeBob turned around and saw Mr. Krabs leaning through a small and opened window in the projector room.

"He's deceiving ya! Reach into his pocket now and take what he's got!" Mr. Krabs yelled a command.

Patrick digged through both of his pockets and found lint. The sea star shrugged his shoulders.

Many other people searched through the other person's pockets and found their belongings.

"You too, boy!" Mr. Krabs saw SpongeBob within the audience and shouted at him.

SpongeBob digged through Plankton's pockets and found a Krabby Patty. *gasps* "I can't believe this!" His eyes widened in shock.

"I-It's not what you think." Plankton began to sweat. SpongeBob discovering that Plankton betrayed him made the plankton extremely anxious

"What is it then? What do you see here?!" SpongeBob shoved the Krabby Patty in front of Plankton's face. The sponge's eyes moistened at the tragic discovery.

"I..." Plankton thought about what he was going to say for several seconds. "I don't see anything." He made a futile attempt at denying about the crime that he had committed.

"How can you not see it?" SpongeBob began to cry.

Plankton's eye moistened and a tear fell from his eye. "Okay, okay, I see it! It's a Krabby Patty, okay? I couldn't help it!"

"But we sang the F. U. N. song!" SpongeBob clutched his stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick! How long?"

"How long what?" Plankton didn't understand SpongeBob's question.

SpongeBob grabbed Plankton with one of his hands and held the plankton tightly. "How long were you planning on doing this?!" A tear ran across the sponge's cheek. "Tell me!"

Plankton put his face on SpongeBob's hand and sobbed.

"What?!" SpongeBob scratched his head.

Plankton made eye contact with SpongeBob. "Alright, it's true! I tricked you to get the Krabby Patty! It was part of a mission to get the secret formula." The plankton made a sincere confession. "But then you showed me friendship! And now I realize... that's all I really wanted!"

SpongeBob made a wide smile and stopped crying. "Really?"

Plankton dove out of SpongeBob's hand and took the Krabby Patty. "No, not really. Being evil is too much fun!" He smiled and made an evil laugh. He made a mighty leap and ripped through the movie screen.

**SLAM**

Plankton hit something that was behind the screen.

**CRRREEEEAAAAK**

Mr. Krabs had exited the projector room after watching SpongeBob and Plankton and entered the movie room by opening the double door. The crustacean walked up to SpongeBob.

"Mr. Krabs, he's gone. He got the patty. He won." SpongeBob looked at the floor and couldn't even bear to make eye contact with Mr. Krabs.

"Ho ho, no he didn't, boy! Don't you know whats behind these screens?" Mr. Krabs opened the ripped screen and revealed a dizzy Plankton on the floor and a squashed Krabby Patty that was on a concrete wall. "Solid concrete!" The crab made a pirate laugh. He took the squished Krabby Patty and gave it to SpongeBob.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Krabs. I thought Plankton had changed." SpongeBob looked at the Krabby Patty.

"Don't blame him, lad. No friendship could withstand the allure of a Krabby Patty! Now let's go back to the Krusty Krab and have a fresh one on me!" Mr. Krabs walked towards the exit of the movie room.

"Aye, aye, Mr. Krabs!" SpongeBob ate the Krabby Patty, put on his employee hat, and followed Mr. Krabs.

"Well, maybe on a discount." Mr. Krabs smirked.

S-S-S-S-S

A few hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

It was a bit after 6:00 PM.

SpongeBob walked into his neighborhood; he was coming back from work.

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

Patrick exited his rock. "Hey, SpongeBob, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy is on!" He yelled at the sponge.

SpongeBob gasped and made a wide smile. He ran towards Patrick's rock.

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

The two friends entered the rock.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick sat on a sofa of sand. They looked at the screen of a sand TV and watched a rerun of an episode of 'The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy'. That TV show was their favorite show and they always watch a new episode every Saturday morning or a rerun episode such as now when they have some spare time.

Patrick looked at SpongeBob and noticed something. "Where's that new friend of yours? I thought he was with you."

"He wasn't a true friend, Pat. He wanted to become friends with me just so he can get the Krabby Patty secret formula." SpongeBob frowned.

"Oh." Patrick made a solemn face. "But I wouldn't honestly do that to you. No matter how much I destroy our friendship, it just repairs itself and comes together again." His intelligence had increased.

SpongeBob smiled and giggled. "You said it, Pat."

"I'm not as dumb as you sometimes think." Patrick smirked.

SpongeBob laughed.

Patrick scratched his head and became confused, he didn't intend what he said to be a joke. "Was that a joke?"

"You're killing me!" SpongeBob nearly suffocated in laughter.

Patrick's eyes bugged out and he ran to the phone, the sea star had taken SpongeBob's words seriously.

"Wait!" SpongeBob grabbed Patrick's arm and prevented the starfish from picking up the phone.


	16. Culture Shock

**Chapter 16: Culture Shock**

* * *

Two days later...

S-S-S-S-S

The Krusty Krab was nearly deserted. There wasn't a single customer eating a Krabby Patty or sitting in a table. Only the employees and the boss of the restaurant remained. No customers came to the Krusty Krab ever since it opened in the morning.

Mr. Krabs put a sign that said 'FREE' on the condiments bar which was near the boat that Squidward was sitting in; the crustacean was desperate to attract customers. "I just don't get it. If free condiments doesn't bring in customers, what will?!" The crab took a deep breath and sat in a table. He was deep in thought as he searched for new ideas to bring in customers.

Squidward was reading a magazine and looked at the photos of the ballet dancers, he imagined his head on the photos of the dancers and entered a realm of fantasy.

SpongeBob was wiping the dust off the tables with a towel. He dipped the towel into a bucket full of water and made it wet again. He then continued to wipe the tables with the towel. The tables in the dinning room had gathered dust due to the lack of customers,

Squidward was ballet dancing across the dining room while his eyes were closed. He was so absorbed into this fantasies that he didn't notice he was dancing.

Mr. Krabs noticed what Squidward was doing and narrowed his eyes. "Squidward!"

Squidward opened his eyes. "W-woah!" He tripped on a nail that was on the floor.

**THUD**

He fell to the floor. "Yes, sir?" Squidward stood up.

"There's gonna be some changes around here." Mr. Krabs took the Krusty Krab's drought of customers very seriously.

**C-CRRREEEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

A young man who was wearing a purple shirt entered the restaurant.

Mr. Krabs gasped and grinned. "A customer! Welcome to the Krusty Krab!" He took out a chair from a table and put it in front of the 'customer'.

The young man sat on the chair. He was surprised by the warm welcome that he was given.

Mr. Krabs pushed him to the table where the chair came from. "SpongeBob, cater to his every whim. And don't screw this one up." He commanded SpongeBob.

"Aye aye sir!" SpongeBob made a military salute, stopped wiping one of the tables, and walked up to the customer. "Welcome aboard, sir! Here at the Krusty Krab, you are the captain, and I am your cabin boy. You just say the word and I will throw myself in the brig! May I take your order?" He wanted to give the customer a good impression of the Krusty Krab.

"All I wanted was change for the payphone." The young man handed SpongeBob a dollar that was in his pocket.

**"**Aye aye, sir!" SpongeBob ran to the cash register and opened it. He put the dollar into it and took out four quarters. He ran back to the young man and gave the four quarters to him. "Monsieur's change."

"Thanks." The young man put the quarters into his pocket and laughed nervously. He was creeped out by SpongeBob's behavior. "Here you go." He put a spare penny on the table and stood up from his seat. The young man then ran to the double door.

**C-CRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The young man exited the Krusty Krab.

Mr. Krabs' nose detected the familiar scent of a penny. "Yeah!" He smiled, ran to the penny, and snatched it. "SpongeBob, Squidward, come into my office." He put the penny away.

**CRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs entered his office.

**CRREEEEEAAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob and Squidward entered Mr. Krabs' office as well.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs sat in his desk.

SpongeBob and Squidward sat on a chair respectively.

"Now as you may have noticed, profits are way down this week." Mr. Krabs took out a large chart and showed it to the two employees. It had a zig-zag line that was in a downward slope. "We've got to think of a gimmick to bring in customers." The crustacean put the chart away. "Do you lubbers have any ideas?"

A lightbulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. "I've got one!" He quickly exited the office and came back with a tray. The sponge took off his pair of socks and put them on the tray. "A free pair of socks with every purchase! Or maybe 'Double Patty Midnight Madness'! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! I know! I know! I know! How about 'mouth full of clams' day! Everyone who shows up with a mouthful of clams..." SpongeBob had numerous ideas running through his mind. He took out some clam clips and clipped them on his tongue. "...gets a free drink! Huh? Huh?" He spoke while the clips were on his tongue.

"Well, uhh, I was thinking more along the lines of live entertainment." Mr. Krabs scratched his head.

SpongeBob put his socks on and put the tray away. He took the clam clips off his tongue and put them in his pocket.

Squidward gasped as he heard what Mr. Krabs said and a lightbulb lit up in his head. "That's it, a floor show! Wait, a talent show! With your host, me!" He got out of his seat and stood in front of Mr. Krabs, he couldn't miss this opportunity to make one of his dreams come true. "This is the moment I've... I mean, we've been dreaming of. Think of it, Mr. Krabs, you will be responsible for bringing culture to this cultural wasteland we call Bikini Bottom! And not to mention, the money." The octopus tried to persuade Mr. Krabs to the best of his ability.

"The money?" Mr. Krabs' eyes widened and he fantasized about all the profits that he would earn.

"And I can see it now... your daughter, Pearl, her name up in lights." Squidward held Mr. Krabs' shoulder.

"Little Pearly... a star?" Mr. Krabs looked at the photo on his desk that showed him and Pearl.

"Hoppin' clams! A talent show! I'm talented!" The sponge was confident in his strange talents. "I'd better tell everybody about this!" SpongeBob smiled widely and stood up.

"Squidward, you've got a deal. Make my little girl a star!" Mr. Krabs stood up and held out his hand.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs shook hands.

"Anyways, who's Pearl?" SpongeBob was curious.

"She's my daughter." Mr. Krabs smirked.

SpongeBob gasped. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought you lived alone." He grinned.

Mr. Krabs made a pirate laugh.

SpongeBob giggled. "C'ya later. I'm gonna make some posters." He walked towards the door.

**CRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited the office.

"Mr. Squidward, how much is this gonna cost?" Mr. Krabs asked a question that got into his mind since Squidward began to talk about the talent show.

"As much as necessary. The stuff we need to buy is definitely expensive." Squidward folded his arms and became serious.

Mr. Krabs sighed. "As long as it's for Pearly." He imputed a code and opened the safe. The crustacean took out a large amount of money and closed the safe. "We're going to shop now?"

"Yep." Squidward nodded.

The two exited the office.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob entered his neighborhood so he could spread the news.

Patrick was standing in front of his rock and was doing absolutely nothing; the sea star's face was deadpan and his limbs were completely still. His was up to his usual behavior.

"Hey, Pat, there's gonna be a talent show at the Krusty Krab!" SpongeBob informed Patrick.

Patrick's eyes bugged out and he made a wide smile. "Can I go?!" He jumped up and down in excitement.

"Absolutely. Also, can you do me a favor?" SpongeBob needed assistance with a certain task.

"What do I need to help you with?" Patrick was willing to help SpongeBob since they were friends.

"I need to make a lot of posters for the talent show and put them all over Bikini Bottom." SpongeBob explained to Patrick about what he was going to do.

"Oh no. You don't need my help. I know just the person who can help you." Patrick smirked.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**KNOCK KNOCK**

SpongeBob knocked on the front door of Sandy's treedome. "Why haven't I thought of this before?" He felt silly for not thinking about getting help from Sandy.

"_Hello?_" Sandy's electronic voice was heard.

"It's us, SpongeBob and Patrick." SpongeBob replied.

The front door was unlocked.

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob and Patrick opened the front door and entered the small hallway. The hallway was slowly drained of all of its water and the two friends put on a fish bowl full of water each.

**CRREEAAAK**

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Sandy raised her brow.

"I'm trying to make some posters for a talent show that will be hosted at the Krusty Krab." SpongeBob smiled innocently.

Sandy's eyes widened. "A talent show?" Her eyes sparkled as she fantasized about showing her talents to all of the Bikini Bottomites and the fame she would get. "I'll definitely help ya."

The sponge, the sea star, and the squirrel walked across the treedome and entered the oak tree. They went down a long set of stairs and entered a metal hallway. The three walked through the hallway and eventually entered the laboratory.

"The computer is over there." Sandy pointed at a closed laptop computer that was on an empty table.

SpongeBob walked towards the table and opened the laptop.

Sandy pushed a chair towards SpongeBob. "You can sit here." She put the chair behind the sponge.

"You're taking this talent show seriously, aren't you?" SpongeBob giggled.

"Hell yeah!" Sandy palmed her fist.

SpongeBob winced. "Watch the language!"

"Oops." Sandy put her hand over her mouth. "I'm just too excited. Anyways, how do I sign up for the show?"

"You can just come along with me if you want." SpongeBob pressed the power button on the computer and turned it on.

"Then count me in too." Patrick overhead the conversation between SpongeBob and Sandy. He was touching robots and other strange things that he found in the laboratory.

Sandy walked to a large printer and picked up a long wire that was laying on the floor. She walked to the laptop and connected it with the printer.

"Which icon do I have to click?" SpongeBob scratched his head as he saw the numerous icons that nearly filled the entire main interface of the computer.

"Click the icon that looks like a paintbrush." Sandy looked at the screen of the computer.

"'kay." SpongeBob clicked on the icon that looked like a paintbrush. It opened up a program that one would use to create art or design something.

"Is this the first time you have ever used a computer?" Sandy gave SpongeBob a funny look.

SpongeBob laughed. "Nope. I've used a computer at my parents' house before I moved out, it wasn't mine though."

"Just do your thing." Sandy continued to watch SpongeBob.

SpongeBob began to design the poster.

S-S-S-S-S

Thirty minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

"I'm done." SpongeBob wiped some sweat off his brow. Sandy had given him a few tips about the program while he was making the poster.

"All we have to do now is print it out." Sandy was sitting on a chair next to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob clicked on a icon that looked like a printer.

Numerous paper copies of the poster came out of the printer.

SpongeBob stood up and noticed that Patrick was sleeping on a table. He snapped his fingers.

"H-huh?" Patrick woke up.

SpongeBob walked to the printer and picked up the pile of posters.

"Oh yeah." Patrick walked towards SpongeBob and took out a portion of the posters. He held some of the posters for him.

Sandy took some posters as well. "Where you're gonna place these?"

"I'm gonna put it all over Bikini Bottom so everybody could know about the show." SpongeBob walked towards the exit of the laboratory.

Sandy and Patrick followed.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy were putting up posters throughout the downtown area of Bikini Bottom.

Larry was walking down the street and noticed them. The lobster walked up to them. "Hey, guys. What're you doing?" He was curious about what SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy were doing.

"We're putting up posters for a talent show." Patrick handed a poster to Larry.

Larry smiled as he read the poster. "It's at the Krusty Krab? I wanna join."

"Then tag along with us. We have to put these posters all over the city." SpongeBob handed Larry a portion of the posters that he was carrying.

"As long as I get to join." Larry began to put up the posters as well. He wasn't too thrilled to perform a tedious task such as this, he would rather do more physically rigorous work.

S-S-S-S-S

Fourty five minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs and Squiward watched as several construction workers built a wooden stage and set up purple curtains that sticked to the ceiling in the dining room.

A long pause.

The construction workers were soon finished with their work and exited the Krusty Krab.

"When is this show gonna start?" Mr. Krabs scratched his head.

"It will start not too long after the Krusty Krab closes; more or less during the evening. SpongeBob probably said or put that in whatever form of information he had given to the people that live here." Squidward was thinking of ideas for the talent show.

"I see." Mr. Krabs nodded. 'I wonder when SpongeBob is gonna come back.'

**C-CRRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and Larry entered the Krusty Krab.

"We're back!" SpongeBob was in a good mood.

"Of course." Squidward took a deep breath. "He had to bring people along."

"I think these are going to be my money-makers for the night." Mr. Krabs patted Squidward on the shoulder and winked.

"But they gotta have talent." Squidward folded his arms and glared at SpongeBob.

"Give them a chance." Mr. Krabs pushed Squidward towards the four others. He seized every opportunity for gaining money due to the very low amount of customers that ate at the Krusty Krab that day.

"Is your boss gonna run the show?" Larry looked at SpongeBob and asked a question.

"The 'boss' who is running this show would be me." Squidward replied.

"Oh." Larry spoke.

An awkward pause.

"Can we join now?" Patrick jumped up and down in excitement.

"Not so fast." Squidward shook his head. "Assuming that all of you have potential, you're going to have to find more talented people like you. Once all of you are gathered here, I'll judge if your talent is decent enough for the show." The octopus spoke in a solemn voice.

"Roger that." Larry turned around and walked towards the double door.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob made a military salute and walked away as well.

**C-CRRREEEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

SpongeBob and Larry exited the Krusty Krab.

"This is gonna be easy, I'll get in that talent show for sure. Ain't that right, Patrick?" Sandy smirked and turned around.

"You're one talented squirrel alright." Patrick turned around as well.

**C-CRRREEEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Sandy and Patrick exited the Krusty Krab.

Squidward was suppressing his giggling after he heard what Sandy said. He then laughed by honking his nose.

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob entered his pineapple. He walked towards the shell-phone and picked it up. The sponge dialed a number and put the phone near his ear.

"_Hello?_" His mother's electronic voice was heard.

"It's me, mom. There is gonna be a talent show at the Krusty Krab and I guarantee you that I'll be in it. Tell this to dad and Brian." SpongeBob spoke into the phone.

"_So, when will this show start?_" SpongeBob's mother asked a question through the phone.

"It will start during the evening. I would say around 6:30." SpongeBob answered his mother's question.

"_Alright. Anyways, how's your career life? Did you get hired at the Krusty Krab?_" His mother had several questions to ask. SpongeBob hadn't contacted his parents in a while.

"Yep. I'm the Krusty Krab's fry cook." SpongeBob giggled. "I should've told you earlier."

His mother gasped through the phone and dropped it to the floor.

An awkward pause.

"_Do you want to put your brother on the phone?_" His father's electronic voice was heard.

"Go ahead." SpongeBob smiled widely.

Another pause.

"_SpongeBob, is that you?_" Brian's electronic voice was heard.

"Hey, big bro. I've got a job as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab." SpongeBob told the news to Brian.

"Umm... congratulations." Brian thought about what he was going to say for a few seconds, his social skills weren't the best.

SpongeBob tried his best to suppress his laughter. "There's also gonna be a talent show at the Krusty Krab during the evening. But your super-busy so that means..." He smirked.

"_I won't come._" Brian didn't mince his words and chuckled. "_Tell me what happens when you come back to your home. Alright?_"

"I promise." SpongeBob made a sincere promise. "I always find the time to tell you about the stuff that happens to me."

"C'ya later." Brian put the phone down on his end.

A long pause as SpongeBob thought of several talented people that he could bring to the Krusty Krab.

A lightbulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. He dialed a number and put the phone near his ear.

Another long pause.

"_Hello?_" An uncle of SpongeBob picked up the phone on the other end.

"It's me, SpongeBob. There's going to be a talent show at the Krusty Krab and I was thinking that I should bring you along so you could be one of the 'talented' people at the show." SpongeBob spoke into his shell-phone.

"_Oh, that restaurant? I would love to. The Krusty Krab has always been one of my favorite eateries. Y'know what's even better? Stanley is in his first year of college so now I don't have to worry about him destroying the house. I'll come right over, 'kay?_" His uncle spoke through his phone.

"Alright, c'ya later, uncle Sherm." SpongeBob put his shell-phone down.

"Meow." Gary slithered by.

"Gary, do you want to go to a talent show? You got all sorts of strange talents." SpongeBob thought that the snail was another person with potential and didn't want to miss this opportunity.

"Meow meow." Gary slowly nodded.

SpongeBob smiled widely and picked up Gary. "Then you're coming with me."

**CRREEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited his pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob stood in front of the entrance to his pineapple and waited for uncle Sherm.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

A boatmobile parked in front of SpongeBob's pineapple. "C'mon, SpongeBob! Let's go!" Uncle Sherm yelled towards the sponge and signaled with his hand for him to come to the car. He was also a yellow sponge and wore a set of squarepants that looked similar to SpongeBob's except that he wore a red bow tie instead of a tie.

"Coming!" SpongeBob ran towards the boat and hopped into it while still holding Gary. He put the snail on his lap.

Uncle Sherm hit the pedal with his foot and drove the boatmobile across the road towards the Krusty Krab.

"Do you know how to get to the Krusty Krab? I don't want us to get lost." SpongeBob had a minor concern.

Uncle Sherm chuckled. "Of course I know my way. The only thing you should be worrying about is me getting into that damn show." He smirked.

SpongeBob couldn't help himself and giggled.

An awkward pause.

"I already know what talent you're gonna show. It's that one where you stick a watermelon up your nose." SpongeBob tried to break the silence.

"You guessed it right." Sherm took out a large watermelon. "I bet all the folks at that restaurant are gonna be impressed after they see what I'm gonna do."

"What about my bubble blowing skills?" SpongeBob took out a bubble wand and a bottle of soap. He opened the cap of the bottle and dipped the wand into the bottle. He inhaled and blew into the wand. Numerous bubbles that looked like rockets came out of the wand and flew through the air. "I think they'll be impressed as well after seeing my bubble blowing."

"I'll have to see it to believe it. Plus, why're you blowing bubbles at this age? Aren't you a grown man?" Sherm raised his brow and smiled from ear to ear.

SpongeBob stopped smiling and became strangely quiet, reality had catched up with him. Many of his talents were childish and not a single mature adult would recognize the silly acts as marvelous feats. Nevertheless, his optimism prevailed and he would try to show his talents anyway since he wouldn't give up that easily. "Umm..." SpongeBob tried to speak but nothing would come out of his mouth. The sponge was deep in thought.

S-S-S-S-S

Five minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Sherm's boatmobile parked in front of the Krusty Krab. Sherm got out of the vehicle and SponeBob grabbed Gary and got out of the car as well.

**C-CRRRREEEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The two sponges opened the double door and entered the Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

Patrick, Larry, and Sandy were already at the restaurant and were helping Squidward and Mr. Krabs with the preparation of the stage for the talent show.

"He's back!" Patrick pointed at SpongeBob.

"I see that you've brought more people." Squidward walked up to SpongeBob. "However, we're gonna need a few more candidates to make the show have a decent length so it could be worth people's money."

"You better fetch Pearl then. We forgot to get her." Mr. Krabs reminded Squidward and SpongeBob about Pearl.

"Then who else can we find that's talented? We couldn't find anybody else that we know." Sandy brought up something important.

Squidward looked through the glass of the double door and looked at the Chum Bucket. He took a deep breath.

A pause.

"Bring Plankton over here. He might have something that could be passed off as an excuse for a talent." Squidward folded his arms.

SpongeBob's eyes widened until he realized something. "You're right, Squid. With all the attempts that he made to steal the formula, he's gotta have something up his sleeve other than his intelligence."

"Since bringing Plankton over here will give him a new opportunity to steal the formula, I want you to keep a good eye on him during the talent show." Mr. Krabs added to the conversation and pointed at SpongeBob.

"Roger." SpongeBob made a military salute.

**C-CRRREEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

SpongeBob exited the restaurant.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked towards the Chum Bucket.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

The sponge knocked on the double door of the restaurant.

**CREEAAK**

"Yes?" Plankton opened the door until it was ajar and peeked through. He saw SpongeBob and sighed. "What do you want this time?"

"Do you want to be part of a talent show at the Krusty Krab? It's gonna start during the evening." SpongeBob informed Plankton.

Plankton looked at the Krusty Krab and made an evil smile. He was given a new chance to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. "Sure. Why not?"

"What talent do you have?" SpongeBob asked another question.

"I'm just gonna do some magic tricks." Plankton shrugged.

"Okee-dokee." SpongeBob picked up Plankton by his antennae and dropped him on one of his hands. The sponge turned around and walked towards the Krusty Krab.

**C-CRRREEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

SpongeBob re-entered the Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs took out an empty glass bottle. "This is to make sure you're not gonna steal the formula behind our backs." The crustacean opened the cap of the bottle and picked up Plankton by his antennae. He dropped Plankton into the bottle and closed it. The crab put the bottle on a table.

"Well this sucks." Plankton sat down and folded his arms.

"Don't worry, you won't be in there for long." Mr. Krabs smirked.

"Now we have to get Pearl." Patrick walked towards the double door.

"Wait! Don't go out yet!" Mr. Krabs held out his hand towards Patrick. "She's in high school and won't come back until around 3 in the afternoon."

"Oh." Patrick turned around and sat in a table.

An awkward pause.

Squidward thought for several seconds until he broke the silence that was in the dining room. "Since Mr. Krabs will force me to put Pearl on the show, I want all of you to show your talents so I can get that over with." At this point, the octopus was acting more like a boss than Mr. Krabs since he was directing the talent show and it was his idea.

"Can I go first?!" Patrick stood up from his seat and raised his hand.

"Fine. Go ahead." Squidward sat at a table and watched Patrick.

Patrick played a song by making drumming sounds with his stomach.

SpongeBob clapped to the beat of the song as a way of supporting his best friend.

Patrick finished playing the song and bowed.

"Patrick, I'm somewhat impressed. Even though the way you played the 'drums' wasn't artistic at all, the sound was what made the song decent. Your skills aren't even comparable to how good my skills are at playing clarinet but I'll allow you to be on the show." Squidward gave his verdict while preserving his ego.

SpongeBob and Patrick giggled since they knew that Squidward is really bad at playing clarinet.

"I'll go next." Sandy gently shoved SpongeBob and Patrick out of the way and stood in front of Squidward. The squirrel made eye contact with the octopus. "You're going to have to wait for a few seconds. My robots are bring the equipment that I need." She looked through the glass of the double door.

**C-CRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Sandy's robots entered the Krusty Krab and were carrying a bench for bench pressing and a barbell with a large anchor on each end. They put the bench on the the floor and put the barbell on top of the bench.

"Watch this." Sandy laid down on the bench and grasped the barbell. The squirrel slowly lifted the barbell with all the strength she could muster and the barbell went as high as it could go. Sandy then cautiously lowered the barbell to the bench. She stood up from the bench. "How's that?"

"Meh. I think that's enough to pass. It's always good to have some variety with the talents." Squidward shrugged his shoulders and signaled for Sandy to walk away.

The robots picked up the bench and the barbell.

**C-CRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The robots exited the restaurant.

S-S-S-S-S

Several of Larry's friends were carrying a very long water slide towards the Krusty Krab. They eventually stopped before the building and dropped the water slide to the ground.

S-S-S-S-S

"My turn." Larry took out his surfboard and ran towards the double door.

**C-CRREEAAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The lobster exited the Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

Larry ran all the way to the back of the water slide. He put his surfboard on the slide and backed away. Once he read a certain distance from the water slide, he ran towards it and hopped to the surfboard. The surfboard glided through the water as Larry stood on it and a wave was eventually formed due to the speed of the surfboard. The lobster surfed through the wave and did a hand-stand, stood on one foot, and laid down while he was on the surfboard so he could show off his skills.

A pause.

The lobster noticed that the wave was reaching the end of the water slide and he dove to the ground.

The large wave crashed on the windows of the Krusty Krab and didn't cause any damage. All of Larry's friends who carried the water slide backed away so they could be safe from the water. A massive amount of water went across the ground and was soaked up by it.

Larry walked towards the Krusty Krab after he waited for the water of the wave to no longer be a threat.

**C-CRRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The lobster entered the restaurant.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward's eyes widened as he watched Larry surf. The octopus admired the beauty of the wave and how Larry surfed it effortlessly. He looked at Larry who had just entered the Krusty Krab and didn't know what to say.

"Well? Was that enough?" Larry really wanted to know if he got into the talent show.

Squidward silently nodded his head.

"Yes!" Larry pumped his fist.

"Next." Squidward spoke to the people that were behind Larry.

"Can I go?" Sherm walked up to Squidward and stood in front of the table that the octopus was sitting in.

Squidward took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with." He continuously tapped his foot in impatience.

Sherm took out the watermelon and squeezed it up his nose. He managed to put the watermelon completely inside his nose after several seconds.

"Dear Neptune." Squidward cringed in disgust. Sherm's act was almost as repulsive as some of the things that Squidward had witnessed Patrick doing.

"Cool." Patrick marveled at Sherm's 'feat' and clapped.

SpongeBob smiled nervously and sweatdropped.

"Is he okay? I can always be a lifeguard off duty." Larry expressed some form of concern for Sherm.

"You're right, Larry. It's highly likely that he can't take that watermelon out of his nose. I think he needs to go to the hospital." Sandy walked up to Sherm.

"You don't have to worry about me." Sherm chuckled and quickly took the watermelon out of his nose. "I've practiced many times."

"I can't put you on the show." Squidward shook his head. "Not only what you did wasn't artistic in the slightest, it will also make the audience either demand a refund or leave the Krusty Krab and that will eventually lead to me getting fired."

"Can I have one of the best seats then?" Sherm took out his wallet and digged through it. The older sponge took out a moderate amount of money.

Mr. Krabs saw what Sherm did and made a wide smile. "It's a deal!" He walked up to Sherm and took the money.

Squidward sighed.

"SpongeBob, remember that if you get nervous during the show, you can always look at me because I'll always watch you from the crowd." Sherm patted SpongeBob on the back and walked away.

**C-CRRREEEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Sherm exited the Krusty Krab.

"Who's left?" Squidward slowly looked across the people in the dining room.

SpongeBob raised his hand.

"Meow." Gary slithered up to Squidward.

"An animal like you think he has talent? Well this is gonna be interesting." Squidward looked down and made eye contact with Gary.

Gary took out a sheet of paper that was inside his shell. "Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow." The snail read a poem out loud.

"I'm surprised. You definitely have potential." Squidward nodded his head. "You're in." He made a thumbs up.

Gary smiled and put the sheet of paper away. He slithered back to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob took out his bubble wand and bottle of soap. He then walked up to Squidward.

"Oh boy." Squidward deeply inhaled and exhaled. He dreaded this moment and wasn't too enthusiastic to allow SpongeBob to show off his talents. The octopus made his hand support his head.

SpongeBob dipped the wand into the bottle of soap and blew at the wand. Two bubbles that looked like elephants wearing tuxedos came out of the wand. The two 'elephants' danced elegantly throughout the dining room until they...

**P-POP!**

...popped.

SpongeBob couldn't stand still. The sponge heavily anticipated for Squidward's verdict.

Squidward shook his head and made a thumbs down. "It would have been better if you were the one dancing but I don't think bubbles are going to make the cut. The dancing moves that the bubbles made weren't the best and I know for sure that a young child could have more talent in dancing than them. I can't put you into the show."

SpongeBob frowned and looked at the floor. His eyes moistened and he walked towards a table. He sat in the table and put both of his hands over his face. Not a single sound came from his mouth and he didn't shed a single tear. All the excitement he had for him being in the talent show was for nothing.

"Meow." Gary slithered up to SpongeBob's lap.

Sandy looked at SpongeBob and then glared at Squidward. The squirrel became angry. "What is wrong with you?!" She marched up to Squidward and folded her arms.

"My show. My rules. It's that simple." Squidward spoke clearly and in a somewhat loud voice.

"But at least give us some constructive criticism! All you do is either lash out at the people you don't like or allow the people who aren't the people you hate into the show. It's biased and you don't tell us how to improve either way. Someone that you thought wasn't good enough for the show could've improved if you at least tell that person how to fix the things they did wrong and then you might change your mind after you see their improved performance. But, no! You didn't do that. I bet you didn't even consider the options I just told you before you made us show our talents." Sandy ranted about how much of a jerk that Squidward was.

"Sandy, I have a good reason for this." Squidward was acting as calm as he could. "Anybody who I hate has made my life more miserable in a certain way. A high school rival of mine, Squilliam, and SpongeBob are the best examples for this. Whenever I allow these two people or other similar people to help me out or get too involved in my life, they end up getting in my way and ruin all the progress that I've made for a certain goal. If you've had SpongeBob as a neighbor for a year, you'll understand." The octopus explained why he did the actions he had done.

"That's baloney!" Patrick yelled at Squidward and walked up to him. "You can't deny someone's talent even if that person was someone you hate. I've known SpongeBob far longer than you and I'm confident that SpongeBob has some sort of talent. If my best friend really tried, he could probably play the clarinet better than you!" The sea star's intelligence had dramatically increased.

"I have to be insane to allow SpongeBob into the talent show. As I've implied before, he's going to ruin the whole show if he interferes too much and all the effort I made would go to waste." Squidward was firm in his beliefs.

SpongeBob shed a tear as he heard what Squidward said.

"Since you're rejecting SpongeBob, you probably won't need my talents as well." Sandy turned around and walked towards the double door. "C'mon SpongeBob, let's go!" The squirrel yelled at the sponge and signaled for him to walk towards her with her hand.

SpongeBob slowly stood up and walked towards the double door. He was still upset.

**C-CRRREEEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Sandy and SpongeBob exited the Krusty Krab.

"Jerk!" Patrick blew a raspberry at Squidward and exited the building as well.

Squidward, Gary, Larry, Plankton, and Mr. Krabs were the remaining people in the restaurant.

"Mr. Squidward, I know one talent that you have." Mr. Krabs walked up to Squidward. "Ruining my business!" The crustacean was furious after he saw Squidward making more than half of his money-makers leave the restaurant.

**C-CRRREEEAAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Another young man entered the restaurant. He saw the stage in the dining room. "Umm... is this place open?"

"We're open alright." Mr. Krabs smiled. "We're just practicing for the talent show."

"Oh." The young man walked towards the cash register.

"You two." Squidward pointed at Gary and Larry. "Just practice until I'm done serving this customer."

Larry put his surfboard on a table and practiced his surfing skills.

Gary slithered to the wooden stage and took out the sheet of paper. The snail then practiced his skills at reading out loud.

Squidward sat inside the boat with the cash register. "How can I help you?" He spoke to the young man.

The young man looked up at the Galley Grub. "I would like a Krabby Patty with some fries."

Squidward turned to the ordering window. "SpongeBo-" The octopus noticed that SpongeBob wasn't in the kitchen.

An awkward pause.

Squidward got out of the boat. "I'm sorry, sir, but our fry cook isn't in the kitchen. I need to bring him back." The octopus ran across the dining room.

**CRREEAK**

**SLAM**

Squidward quickly exited the restaurant in search of SpongeBob.

"What happened?" The young man scratched his head and looked at Mr. Krabs.

"Don't worry, he'll be back." Mr. Krabs smirked. "Have a seat." The crab pointed at the same table where the bottle with Plankton inside of it was on.

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? I've got alota time on my hands." He sat in the table.

Mr. Krabs sat in the table as well. "I'll tell you a story about me during my pirate days so we can pass the time."

The customer tried to pay attention as Mr. Krabs began to tell his tale.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick sat on a cliff. They gazed at the ground below the cliff and at the sky.

"Don't listen to Squidward, SpongeBob. He's just having a bad day." Patrick tried to console his best friend.

SpongeBob silently shook his head. 'That's not true.'

"SpongeBob, you didn't need to be in a talent show in the first place. You're already famous by being the Krusty Krab's fry cook." Sandy tried to cheer SpongeBob.

"You're kinda right." SpongeBob felt iffy about what Sandy said.

"C'mon, SpongeBob, snap out of it." Patrick shook his shoulder. "You know who you are. You know that you're talented."

"I guess you could say that." SpongeBob scratched his head. The sponge's eyes moistened somewhat and he looked down at the ground. His two friends weren't completely understanding the sponge's situation.

Sandy looked at SpongeBob and entered a deep level of thought.

A pause.

"Pat..." Sandy looked at Patrick. "I think SpongeBob is taking Squidward's words seriously. What we're saying isn't cheering him up and because of that we made him more upset."

Patrick looked at SpongeBob and noticed that the sponge shed another tear. The sea star bit his lip.

A boatmobile parked behind them. Sherm got out of his car and walked up to the three friends. "Shouldn't you three be at the talent show?" The older sponge raised his brow.

Sandy turned around and made eye contact with Uncle Sherm while still siting on the cliff. "Squidward didn't want SpongeBob in the talent show so we got angry at Squidward and quit being in the show. If SpongeBob can't be in it, then we can't be it either." The squirrel explained what had happened.

"Hmmm..." Sherm sat next to SpongeBob and thought about what he was going to say for several seconds. "Guys, you're not understanding SpongeBob." The uncle looked at SpongeBob from the corner of his eye.

Patrick and Sandy looked at the ground and became silent.

"When the director told me that my talent was too disgusting for an audience to watch and that I wasn't enough for the show, I still tried to find the silver lining in the dark cloud. That's why I asked if I could sit in the tables that are the closest to the stage. I thought that even if I can't participate in the talent show, at least I could watch my nephew become even more famous. While I was in my car and was driving home, I thought about the other talents that I had. I also noticed that there was more than one watermelon in my car. Then the idea came to me; that idea was that I should come back to the Krusty Krab and show my juggling talents to the director. You may not be aware of this but I'm also well known for my talent to juggle watermelons. Not only was I trying to find the positive in the negative, I also didn't give up and wanted to try again." Sherm gave a mini-speech.

"S-Squidward is still my friend." SpongeBob wiped the tear off his cheek and made eye contact with Uncle Sherm.

"That the director's name?" Sherm asked SpongeBob a question.

SpongeBob nodded.

"If he had given you criticism, then he has given you something that you can build upon. Maybe your talent was lacking in some way. It can't be a talent show if it accepts anybody who thinks they have 'talent'. SpongeBob, this isn't the adult child that I know. Act like your past self. Try again." Sherm stood up.

SpongeBob stood up and slowly smiled. "Now I know what to do."

Sandy and Patrick stood up and smiled as well.

"SPONGEBOB!" Squidward yelled at SpongeBob so he could get the sponge's attention as he ran towards the sponge.

SpongeBob saw Squidward and his eyes bugged out.

"There's your chance." Sherm smirked and pushed SpongeBob foward.

SpongeBob walked up to Squidward. "What's wrong?"

Squidward grabbed SpongeBob's arm. "I need you on the grill ASAP."

"You can ride with me to the Krusty Krab." Sherm walked up to Squidward and pointed at his vehicle.

"You again? Well, if you say so." Squidward dragged SpongeBob along and sat in the vehicle.

SpongeBob sat in a seat as well.

Sherm, Patrick, and Sandy sat in the car. Sherm turned the keyhole and turned on the engine of the boatmobile. The uncle then slammed his foot on the pedal.

**VRRROOOOMMM**

The boatmobile drove across the road and disappeared from the horizon.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The boatmobile parked in front of the Krusty Krab. Sherm, SpongeBob, Squidward, Patrick; and Sandy got out of the boat and walked towards the building.

**C-CRRREEEAAAK **

**S-SLAM**

The five entered the restaurant.

S-S-S-S-S

"SpongeBob, the customer asked for a Krabby Patty and some fries." Squidward told SpongeBob the order.

"On it!" SpongeBob entered the kitchen and quickly made a Krabby Patty. He took out some french fries from the fryers and put them in a pack. The sponge took out a plate and put the Krabby Patty and the pack of french fries on it.

**SLAM**

SpongeBob exited the kitchen. "Order up!" The sponge ran towards the customer who was sitting with Mr. Krabs and put the plate on the table.

The young man ate the Krabby Patty and french fries and made a thumbs-up. He stood up and walked to the cash register.

Squidward walked to the boat with the cash register and sat in it.

The young man handed Squidward the necessary amount of money for the order.

Squidward put the money in the cash register.

**CRRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

The young man exited the restaurant.

Sherm walked up to Squidward. "Can I show a different talent?" He took out several watermelons.

"What're you gonna do this time?" Squidward raised his brow.

"Juggling these watermelons." Sherm spoke.

"Very well. As long as you don't stick them into your nose." Squidward took a deep breath and watched Sherm.

Sherm chuckled and threw the watermelons into the air. He then juggled them.

S-S-S-S-S

Ten minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**P-P-P-PLOP**

The older sponge caught all of the watermelons and bowed.

Squidward narrowed his eyes at Sherm and entered a deep level of thought.

A long pause.

"Even though your juggling wasn't artistic enough for my standards, you're one of the best jugglers that I've ever seen." Squidward looked at his watch and his eyes widened. Ten minutes had passed. "It's hard to believe that you juggled for ten minutes without stopping. You're definitely going to be in the show." The octopus held out his hand towards Sherm.

Sherm and Squidward shook hands.

"What about me?" SpongeBob took out his bottle of soap and bubble wand. He walked towards Squidward and stood in front of his uncle.

"Good luck." Sherm spoke to SpongeBob and then sat at a table so he can watch the younger sponge.

"Same thing, eh?" Squidward frowned somewhat and shook his head. "You never give up, do you?"

SpongeBob smiled widely after hearing what Squidward said. He dipped the wand into the bottle and inhaled as deeply as he could. The sponge then blew into the wand with as much air as he could muster; he had a strong desire to impress Squidward thanks to the motivational speech that Sherm had told him. Several bubbles that looked like tigers, jellyfish, monkeys, men in tuxedos while wearing top hats, butterflies, snakes, elephants, giraffes, bears, ballerina dancers; and scallops came out of the wand. SpongeBob ran to the center of the room and twirled on his two feet.

The ballerina dancers twirled around the sponge. The men with top hats danced in a circle beyond and around the ballerina dancers. The jellyfish, butterflies, and scallops flew above the other bubbles and danced in a path that looked like an infinity loop. The snakes slithered in a path that looked like a triangle and surrounded the ballerina and top hat bubbles. The elephants stood on two feet and blew musical notes with their noses; it sounded like a song. The bears, giraffes, monkeys, and tigers danced throughout the dining room in a path that looked like a square.

Patrick was clapping. "GO SPONGEBOB!" He cheered for his best friend.

Sandy, Larry, Mr. Krabs, and Uncle Sherm began to clap as well.

**P-P-P-P-POP!**

All the bubbles popped.

SpongeBob ran back to Squidward and jumped up and down in anticipation. "Was that good?"

Squidward was envious at SpongeBob's talent and didn't want to give him the praise he deserved. "To put it simply, I'll allow you to participate into the show. Are you happy now?" The octopus wasn't in a good mood.

"Yipee!" SpongeBob jumped high in the air.

**THUD**

The sponge safely landed on the floor.

"However, you'll stay in the show under one condition." Squidward spoke in a solemn voice.

SpongeBob paid attention to what Squidward said.

"You will not interfere with the preparation for the show. You'll have to practice your talent outside so we can practice our talents inside the Krusty Krab. Your bubble blowing might become a distraction for the others." Squidward explained the condition to SpongeBob.

"Roger." SpongeBob made a military salute. He quickly ran to the double door.

**C-CRRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The sponge exited the Krusty Krab. He began to practice his bubble blowing outside the restaurant.

"I'll now show my superior talent in dancing." Squidward announced what he was going to do to the people in the dining room.

**CRRREEAAK**

**SLAM**

Squidward entered the bathroom and changed his clothes.

**CRRREEAAK**

**SLAM**

The octopus exited the bathroom. He was wearing his dance clothes, sweat wristbands, and a sweatband on his forehead. Squidward walked up to the wooden stage and began to dance in a certain way that looked like the flight of a bird. His movements were somewhat graceful and his dancing was pleasing to watch.

"Wow." Patrick's eyes widened and he looked at Squidward with wonder as the octopus continued to dance. The sea star initially thought that Squidward was just as bad in dancing as he could play clarinet.

Squidward changed his form of dancing. Both his arms and legs wiggled in the air and he bobbed his head. The octopus's dancing looked similar to the flight of a jellyfish.

'Oh. Never mind.' Patrick changed his mind back to his initial thoughts.

"What a poor excuse for dancing." Plankton shook his head as he sat down inside the bottle and watched Squidward.

Sherm began to giggle at the ridiculousness of Squidward's dancing. He held a hand up and made a thumbs down.

Sandy, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs made thumbs downs with their hands as well.

Squidward felt like he was finished with his dance and stopped dancing. "Are any of you jealous ye-" The octopus noticed that most of the people in the dining room were making a thumbs down. "Well, your opinion won't matter anyway. This is my show so I'll definitely be in it." He smirked and got off the wooden stage.

**CRRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

Squidward entered the bathroom and changed back to his normal clothes.

**CRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

The octopus exited the bathroom. 'If I had brought my radio, I would've been completely ready for the talent show.' Squidward was thinking about going home so he could get his radio.

**C-CRRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Several customers entered the Krusty Krab.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

The Krusty Krab became empty of customers once again. Many customers came to and left the restaurant.

Squidward looked at his watch. The hands on the watch showed 3:00 PM and it was only a few hours before the talent show will begin. "Now's a good time to get Pearl."

"Can I come with you?" SpongeBob walked up to Squidward and asked.

"As long as you don't cause any mayhem." Squidward walked across the dining room.

**C-CRRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

SpongeBob and Squidward exited the restaurant. They walked towards Mr. Krabs' anchor.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**KNOCK KNOCK**

SpongeBob knocked on the front door of the anchor.

**CRREEEAAK**

Pearl opened the door. "Yes?"

An awkward pause. Pearl realized something.

"Aren't you that employee that works in my dad's restaurant?" Pearl made eye contact with Squidward and then looked at SpongeBob. "I don't recognize you. Are you new?" The whale raised her brow.

"Yep. I've been hired about a month ago." SpongeBob smiled. "We're here to tell you that you can become part of our talent show at the Krusty Krab. I should say..." The sponge pointed at Squidward. "...Squidward's talent show."

"You'll automatically be accepted into the show if you agree to come with us since Mr. Krabs will force me to anyway." Squidward continued the explanation about the talent show.

Pearl gasped. "Wait a sec!" She ran into the anchor and went upstairs. The whale entered her bedroom and found a pair of pom-poms. She ran downstairs and exited the anchor. "I'm ready."

"You're going to cheerlead?" SpongeBob became curious.

**SLAM**

Pearl closed the front door. "Yeah." She nodded.

"Let's go." Squidward droned and walked towards the Krusty Krab.

SpongeBob and Pearl followed.

S-S-S-S-S

**C-CRRREEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

SpongeBob, Pearl, and Squidward entered the Krusty Krab.

Squidward pointed at the stage and looked at Pearl. "Just do your talent on the stage so we can know what're you gonna do."

"'kay." Pearl walked up to the wooden stage. "GIVE ME A K-R-U!" She held out her arms and shook the pom-poms. The whale jumped up and down.

The floor of the Krusty Krab shook violently as if an earthquake was happening due to Pearl's weight.

"W-woah!" Patrick fell from his seat and landed on the floor.

**CLINK**

The bottle that Plankton was inside of fell from the table and rolled across the floor.

"GIVE ME A S-T-Y!" Pearl shook the pom-poms and jumped up and down once again.

The wooden floor of the Krusty Krab shook even more.

Squidward tightly hugged the mast so he didn't fall to the floor.

Mr. Krabs sat inside the boat with the cash register and held on for dear life. "Good job, Pearly!" The crustacean tried his best to clap while the floor still shook.

"Krusty Krab!" Pearl jumped up and down three times. "KRUSTY KRAB!" The whale jumped as high as she could and landed on the floor. "How did I do?"

Everybody by then had fell to the floor due to the massive amounts of shaking that the floor made.

A pause.

Every single person other than Pearl stood up.

"Pearl, I think you need to improve on your jumping. You might accidentally destroy the Krusty Krab." Mr. Krabs smiled nervously.

"For once, I completely agree with you." Squidward folded his arms and glared at Pearl.

S-S-S-S-S

A few hours later...

S-S-S-S-S

6:30 PM. It was the evening.

Johnny Erain and other cameramen from the Bikini Bottom News station were doing a news report about the talent show in front of the Krusty Krab. Numerous people in formal clothes were entering the restaurant so they could watch the show that was about to begin.

SpongeBob's mother and father entered the Krusty Krab and paid a small fee by giving a few dollars to Mr. Krabs. The two were an orange and brown sponge respectively. The father had a gray moustache and wore glasses while the mother had black hair and brought a purse with her.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was behind the purple curtain of the wooden stage and peeked over the edge of the curtain so he could see the crowd that was in front of him. The sponge saw a large amount of people sitting in tables with white cloth put over it. One lit candle and several plates of Krabby Patties were on each table. "Wow! A full house!" He whispered to himself loudly. The sponge then noticed that his mother and father sat at one of the tables that was in the front row. SpongeBob gasped. "There's Mom and Dad! They are gonna be so proud!" He made a smile that went from ear to ear.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs walked up to SpongeBob's parents and held out his hand. The crustacean shook hands with both of the sponges. "Hello, I'm Mr. Krabs, and I like money." The crab smirked.

"You must be our son's boss, right?" SpongeBob's mom asked a question.

Mr. Krabs made a pirate laugh. "Doesn't all the money in my pockets give my status away?" The crab digged into his pockets and took out all the money he collected.

SpongeBob's mom and dad chuckled.

Mr. Krabs sat in the same table with SpongeBob's parents. "I can tell that you have another question on your mind." The crab could feel both parents' feet moving under the table. "But I'll ease your worries right now. SpongeBob will be in the show. Squidward accepted him into it." The crustacean assured the sponge's parents.

"Thank Neptune." SpongeBob's dad wiped sweat off his brow. "We were worried about not seeing our son showing his talent to the world."

S-S-S-S-S

"I gotta get ready!" SpongeBob saw what just happened and bit his lip. He stepped back into the curtain and saw Squidward entering the back of the wooden stage. The octopus was wearing a tuxedo that he brought from his home after taking a trip to that tiki too long ago. He also held the bottle with Plankton inside of it. The Plankton was practicing his magic trick inside the bottle.

"Alright people, listen up. Gather around everyone, chop, chop." Squidward yelled to the people who were practicing behind the curtain. He opened the bottle, grabbed Plankton by his antennae, and dropped him to the wooden floor.

SpongeBob, Sandy, Patrick, Larry, Gary, and Sherm gathered around Squidward.

"Now, you may be thinking this is your one shot at the big time. Well, it's not. It's mine." Squidward pointed at himself. He was extremely worried about something going wrong during the talent show. "If even a single person messes up while doing their talent, it's going to be my fault."

SpongeBob nodded.

One of Larry's friends ran up to the stage and stood in front of Squidward. "The water slide is ready!" He pointed at the water slide that was in front of the Krusry Krab and was viewable from the glass windows.

"That's good to know. Now get out of here." Squidward pointed to the exit of the stage.

Larry's friend quickly exited the stage.

Sherm looked at his watch. "It's just about time." The older sponge walked to Squidward and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't sweat it and get in there!" He pushed the octopus towards the curtain.

Squidward turned around and glared at Sherm. The uncle's behavior was very similar to that of SpongeBob's. The octopus then opened the curtain, walked across the stage, and stood in front of the crowd.

Everybody in the dining room became quiet.

He took out the cue cards that he had written from a pocket in his tuxedo, quickly read them, and put the cards back into the pocket. "Good evening and welcome to the first Squidward Tentacles Talent Show. Sponsored by the Krusty Krab, home of the Krabby Patty, because no one else would give it a home." The octopus spoke while having a bitter sense of humor.

Patrick laughed from behind the curtain after hearing what Squidward said.

An awkward pause.

"Thank you. Our next act is living proof that nepotism is alive and well." Squidward continued to speak.

Patrick laughed even more.

"Put your fins together for-" Squidward was saying something but got interrupted.

Patrick was suffocating in laughter.

"Put your-" Squidward got interrupted once again.

Patrick was banging his fists on the wooden floor of the stage. The sea star couldn't contain his laughter. He didn't realize that Squidward's subtle jokes weren't meant to be laughed at.

"Pearl." Squidward finished his sentence and muttered to himself as he walked through the curtain.

The people who were sitting in the tables clapped as the curtain rose. Everybody who was on the wooden stage except for Pearl walked to back of the stage since it wasn't their turn yet.

"Hooray! My little girl is finally a star." Mr. Krabs was the last one to stop clapping.

Pearl took out her pom-poms. "GIVE ME A K-R-U!" The whale jumped to the air and landed on the stage.

The floor of the dining room shook rapidly. The tables rattled and people struggled to sit in their seats.

"GIVE ME A S-T-Y!" Pearl shook her pom-poms and jumped once again.

The crowd flew high in the air after Pearl landed on the stage.

**T-T-T-T-T-THUD**

The people fell to the floor and sat back into their seats.

"Krusty Krab!" Pearl jumped higher than before.

The crowd held on to their seats and the tables as if their life was on the line.

"KRUSTY KRAB!" Pearl jumped as high as possible and landed on the stage.

**GRRRROOOOAAAAANNN**

The wooden stage shook unsteadily. It was about to break into pieces due to Pearl's weight.

"Krusty Krab!" Pearl jumped lower than before and lightly landed on the stage. The wooden stage stopped shaking. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The whale bowed and the curtain fell down to cover the back of the stage.

Mr. Krabs was clapping the loudest out of all the people sitting in the tables. "That's what I call talent!" The crab still supported his daughter regardless of the danger she had posed to him and the other people in the dining room.

S-S-S-S-S

Gary slithered up to a wooden stool and took out the sheet of paper that had his poem written on it. The snail knew that it was his turn.

Squidward pushed the stool and Gary in tow through the curtain and left the snail and the stool in front of the crowd. "And now, poetry. By Gary." The octopus spoke to the crowd and walked back to the part of the stage that was behind the curtain.

"Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow." Gary read his poem out loud and eventually finished.

The crowd clapped and cheered for the snail.

Squidward pulled the stool and Gary in tow through the curtain.

The curtain then immediately opened and Plankton walked across the stage in a magician's suit and a top hat. He was holding a magical wand. "I, the amazing Plankton, with the use of prestidigitation..." He pressed a small button that was on the bottom of the wand when no one was noticing and the wand turned into a bouquet of flowers as if it was a magic trick. "...will make a Krabby Patty disappear before your very eyes."

Mr. Krabs stood up from his seat, what Plankton said set up a red flag. The plankton had been practicing silently in the bottle for a good reason and no one participating in the show or working in the Krusty Krab was aware of what he was going to do.

"First, I'll need a volunteer from the audience." Plankton jumped from the stage and landed on a random table. He grabbed a Krabby Patty that was on a plate and jumped to the floor. The plankton then ran towards the double door with as much speed as he could muster.

Mr. Krabs ran to the plankton and squished the Krabby Patty with one of his feet. "Nice try. Your act's over, bub." The crustacean picked up the squished burger and noticed that the plankton dove out of the way before he could get crushed.

"You may win this time." Plankton took out a smoke bomb and smirked. "She-hah-kazeek!" He clapped his hands on the smoke bomb and ignited it.

**BOOM**

The bomb exploded and a large puff of smoke came from the remains of the bomb.

A pause.

The smoke cleared and reveled a charred Plankton whose eye had widened. The smoke bomb had a small device inside of it that would teleport Plankton to the Chum Bucket when the bomb explodes. He became surprised when the puff of smoke wasn't as big as he expected and he wasn't in his laboratory at the Chum Bucket. "Crap." He cursed quietly. Plankton then turned around and walked towards the double door.

The crowd booed at him and made thumbs downs.

CREAK

SLAM

Plankton exited the Krusty Krab.

Mr. Krabs stomped to the wooden stage, opened the curtain, and entered the backstage. "Squidward! This show is becoming a disaster! You're ruining me!" The crustacean was angry at his employee.

"Now, now, don't you worry, Mr. Krabs. Plankton trying to steal the Krabby Patty was inevitable and I knew this ever since I considered Plankton to become part of the show. Sit back down and relax because everybody over here had practiced enough times to the point of mastery." Squidward assured his boss.

"For your sake, I hope you're right." Mr. Krabs still had a few doubts in his mind and walked back to his table. The crab sat down and resumed his watching of the show.

Squidward opened the curtain and stepped into the front of the stage. "If you had heard someone laughing while I was speaking, here he is, Patrick Star." The octopus opened the curtain again and Patrick walked across the stage. The octopus entered the backstage when Patrick stopped walking and stood in front of the crowd.

Patrick hit his stomach with his hands and made drumming sounds. The sea star played a song for several minutes before he finished and bowed.

The crowed clapped and whistled.

Patrick opened the curtain and entered the backstage.

Squidward opened the curtain and moved out of the way so Larry could walk across the stage. "And now, one of the best surfers in town, Larry the Lobster."

Larry jumped off the stage and landed on the floor. The lobster was holding a surfboard and ran across the dining room.

**C-CRRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Larry exited the restaurant and ran to the back of the water slide. He got on his surfboard and glided across the water of the slide. He eventually formed a wave and did several tricks on his surfboard as he surfed. Larry dove to the ground as the wave hit the windows of the Krusty Krab and got soaked by the ground.

**C-CRRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Larry re-entered the restaurant.

The crowd clapped, made thumbs ups, and cheered for Larry.

Larry smiled and entered the backstage.

Squidward opened the curtain and allowed Sherm to enter the front of the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, the infamous uncle of SpongeBob, Sherm." Squidward walked through the curtain

The crowd except for SpongeBob's parents and Mr. Krabs booed loudly at Sherm. They thought that he was going to his disgusting talent of putting a watermelon up his nose.

Sherm was holding several watermelons and threw them to the air. The older sponge then began to juggle them.

Some people in the audience gasped and widened their eyes. They did not expect Sherm to show this talent of his.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Sherm had been juggling for fifteen minutes straight before he messed up.

**P-P-P-P-PLOP**

Sherm caught all of the watermelons and bowed.

The crowd clapped and whistled loudly.

Sherm walked through the curtain.

A pause.

A bench for lifting weights was pushed by Sandy to the front of the stage. The squirrel went to the backstage to get something else.

Another pause.

"Rrgggh!" Sandy heaved a barbell which had anchors on each end and that was larger and heavier than the one she practiced with.

**CLANK**

Sandy dropped the barbell to the bench. She laid down on the bench and grabbed the barbell. The squirrel slowly lifted the barbell until it was as high into the air as possible. She then carefully brought the barbell back down and got off the bench.

The crowd clapped and made thumbs ups.

Sandy opened the curtain, pushed the bench and barbell until it was behind the curtain, and entered the backstage.

Several spotlights lit up the wooden stage.

Squidward put a sweatband on his forehead, put sweat wristbands on his wrists, and put on his dancing clothes. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. We've saved the best for last. Put your hands together for the incomparable Squidward!" The octopus announced his presence behind the curtain. He then opened the curtain and walked to the front of the stage. The octopus danced as if he was flying like a bird for a few minutes and then wiggled his arms and legs and bobbed his head.

"What the?!" One of the people sitting in the tables raised his brow. He thought that Squidward was terrible at dancing.

The crowd booed and made thumbs downs.

Squidward became irritated and stopped dancing. He perceived his talent in a far more positive light than what the crowd was thinking. "You bottom feeders! You don't even know talent!"

"Know talent! Know talent! Know talent!" The crowd yelled in unison.

Squidward became frustrated and stomped his foot. The octopus began to yell out profanities.

SpongeBob opened the curtain slightly and saw Squidward's predicament. The sponge bit his lip in sympathy and pulled Squidward to the backstage.

S-S-S-S-S

"Can I go now?" SpongeBob sweatdropped and smiled nervously. "I think it's my turn."

"Go ahead. The crowd has no taste in the arts whatsoever." Squidward folded his arms and sat on the floor. He was definitely in a grumpy mood. The octopus no longer had the dignity to perform on the stage, reality had bitten a large chunk of his soul.

SpongeBob took out his bubble wand and bottle of soap. He took a deep breath and opened the curtain. The sponge wore a smile as he walked across the front of the stage so he could feel less nervous.

His parents whistled for him.

SpongeBob slowly opened the cap of the bottle of soap. He knew from the corners of his eyes that everybody in the dining room was watching him. The sponge then dipped the wand into the bottle. He took the wand out and inhaled deeply. SpongeBob then exhaled and blew several bubbles that looked like zoo animals or people. He twirled at a rapid speed and the bubbles danced around him. It was nearly the exact same stunt that he had shown to Squidward so he could get into the talent show.

The crowd silently watched as SpongeBob made a spectacular show with the bubbles.

**P-P-P-P-P-POP!**

All of the bubbles popped and SpongeBob bowed.

The entire audience stood up from their seats and cheered the loudest compared to when they cheered for other people showing their talents. People chanted SpongeBob's first name and some even threw flowers at the sponge's feet.

"Why, thank you." SpongeBob smirked and picked up the flowers; he was somewhat bashful. He then wrapped the flowers into a bouquet and waved at his parents.

SpongeBob's mother and father waved back.

Squidward was watching SpongeBob from a slit in the curtain. A green flame known as envy could be seen in his eyes and he gritted his teeth.

S-S-S-S-S

Fifteen minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The dining room was almost completely empty. The people who were sitting in the tables except for SpongeBob's parents had realized that the show was over and exited the Krusty Krab. Most of the people who participated in the show had left the Krusty Krab as well.

SpongeBob was cleaning the tables with a wet towel, putting out the candles and taking them off the tables, and taking the white cloths off the tables.

Squidward was washing the dishes in the kitchen. He groaned as he realized that he still had a few piles of dishes left to clean.

**CRREEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs was pushing a wheelbarrow full of money through the kitchen so he could pat Squidward on the back. "You did it, Squidward! What a great show!"

"It's not my show anymore. SpongeBob stole the spotlight." Squidward spoke quietly and struggled to clean the dishes as he thought of several ways to get revenge on SpongeBob.

"As long as it brings in money." Mr. Krabs smirked.

**CRRREEEAAAAK**

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs entered his office.

S-S-S-S-S

"Oh my, our son's a star!" Mrs. SquarePants smiled as SpongeBob finished cleaning the tables and walked towards the double door.

"Who ever knew he had such talent." Mr. SquarePants scratched his head.

"You should be on TV, buddy!" Patrick held out his hand.

SpongeBob and Patrick made a high-five.

'Bikini Bottom's got talent alright.' Sandy chuckled after she thought of the amazing feats that SpongeBob, Larry, Gary, and Patrick had done during the talent show. She initially thought that sea creatures weren't able to have such talents or reach such achievements when she first came to Bikini Bottom. The squirrel opened the double door so the other four and her could exit the restaurant.

The five left the restaurant and headed back for their homes.

**S-SLAM**

The double door became closed.


	17. MuscleBob BuffPants

**Chapter 17: MuscleBob BuffPants**

* * *

The next morning...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob walked through a dark hallway where there was a nightlight on one of the walls and entered the exercise room. He was starting to incorporate some vigorous exercise into his morning routine.

SpongeBob walked to the mat and stood on it. He took a deep breath and picked up a barbell with a pink bunny and blue bear on each end respectively. The sponge did fifteen brutal repetitions without stopping or else the exercise wouldn't be as effective. The muscles of his arms became strained to the limit and rivulets of sweat ran across his body. SpongeBob slowly and shakily lowered the barbell and then lifted it up using all the strength that his arms had to make his sixteenth repetition.

Ding dong

The faint sound of the doorbell was heard.

**PLOP!**

SpongeBob dropped the barbell and shook his arms to loosen them up since they were tense from the weightlifting. The sponge exited the exercise room and ran down the hallway. He rapidly went past the kitchen and entered the living room.

The yellow sponge walked up to the front door.

**CRRREEEAAK**

SpongeBob opened the front door and saw Sandy.

"Howdy, SpongeBob. How's it goin'?" Sandy greeted SpongeBob. The squirrel thought that she should visit SpongeBob's house since the sponge had visited her home many times.

"Not too close, Sandy. I tend to get smelly when I'm pumping iron." SpongeBob's nose detected an odor coming from his armpits and the sponge went back a few steps. "Check it out." He flexed one of his arms as another futile attempt to impress Sandy. Only a small bump came from his bicep. The effort he put into his exercise wasn't proportional to the output he got with his muscles.

"Well, you're smelly." Sandy could partially smell the odor from SpongeBob's armpits and wasn't impressed by the small bump from SpongeBob's biceps.

"It's all thanks to my state-of-the-art work set." SpongeBob signaled with his hand for Sandy to follow him. The sponge exited the living room.

Sandy followed the sponge.

S-S-S-S-S

Twenty seconds later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Sandy entered the exercise room.

Sandy looked at the barbell with the plush dolls on each end and raised her brow. "Uhh, I don't wanna disappoint you, SpongeBob, but you won't see any progress with that." She shook her head and tried her best to suppress her giggling. The squirrel knew that SpongeBob was physically weak but she overestimated the sponge, he was far weaker than she initially thought.

"Oh, really?" SpongeBob scratched his head. He thought that the barbell made him far more muscular than before.

"That is, if you want arms like these." Sandy flexed her right arm so she could showcase her strength. The squirrel had a large and well-developed bicep. "Or these!" She flexed her left arm and that arm also had a robust bicep. "Or THESE!" Sandy showed her back muscles to SpongeBob.

"Well, uhh, maybe I could use a little help." SpongeBob was impressed by Sandy's muscles and could tell that the squirrel was an expert at bodybuilding.

"Well, if you want arms like mine, you just gotta follow my training program." Sandy pointed at herself with her thumb. She was confident that she could teach SpongeBob how to properly strengthen and enlarge his muscles since she had thought him how to fight in the martial art of karate.

"Wow, really? That'd be great Sandy!" SpongeBob became enthusiastic about trying out Sandy's training program. "I can see me now." He fantasized about him doing daily activities while being tall and having a muscular physique. The sponge thought that certain physically demanding tasks would become pathetically easy if he gained enough strength. "Yeah... that would change everything!"

"Then be at my place within thirty minutes. See you around." Sandy exited the exercise room and left the pineapple.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**KNOCK KNOCK**

SpongeBob knocked on the front door of the treedome.

"_SpongeBob? Is that you?"_ Sandy asked a question electronically.

"Yep. I'm ready to train." SpongeBob was preparing his muscles for the workout that he was about to do.

"_Come right in._" Sandy unlocked the front door.

**CRRREEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob opened the door and entered the treedome. He put on a fish bowl as all of the water in the small hallway was drained.

**CRRREEEAAK**

Sandy opened the door in front of SpongeBob and moved out of the way so SpongeBob could walk through the doorway.

SpongeBob walked through the doorway and saw several robots putting and setting up exercise equipment outside of the oak tree. "Oooooh. Can I go on one?" The sponge pointed to a treadmill wheel and jumped up and down in excitement. He wanted to run on it.

"You gotta develop your arm muscles first since those are weaker than your legs. You're already a good runner so you won't need to go on the treadmill." Sandy pointed at SpongeBob's thin arms and then pointed at the ground. "Do twenty-five push-ups."

SpongeBob's eyes bugged out and he then took a deep breath. The sponge laid down on the ground and tried to make a proper push-up position.

"You're doing it wrong." Sandy moved SpongeBob's arms until they were near his shoulders. "Your arms are supposed to be near your shoulder."

"Oh." SpongeBob nodded.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

"Come on, SpongeBob, it's only push-ups! Come on. Come on! You can do it!" Sandy yelled words of encouragement at SpongeBob.

"O-one." SpongeBob made one push-up. He had to do it very slowly because his arms weren't used to exerting this much force.

"Is that the best you can do?" Sandy gave SpongeBob a puzzled look.

"Y-yeah." SpongeBob shakily stood up.

"Alright, follow me." Sandy walked towards a boxing ring.

SpongeBob followed.

The sponge and squirrel climbed into the arena. Some of the robots gathered around to watch SpongeBob and Sandy fight each other.

Sandy put on a pair of boxing gloves that was laying on the polished floor.

SpongeBob put on another pair of of boxing gloves and noticed that they were very heavy. The gloves were pulling his arms to the floor.

"Alright, put 'me up!" Sandy got into a boxing stance.

SpongeBob barely managed to move his gloves up by a few inches. "They're up." He spoke quietly as he tried to make and maintain a boxing stance.

"Ding ding!" Sandy imitated a boxing bell and that meant that the match begun.

**BAM**

Sandy punched SpongeBob.

**THUD**

SpongeBob flew out of the arena and landed on the ground. He didn't even had a chance at beating Sandy in a boxing match.

"You okay?" Sandy was concerned with SpongeBob's health.

"I'm alright." SpongeBob took off his boxing gloves and managed to stand up. He shook back to his senses.

"Hmmm..." Sandy was deep in thought.

A pause.

"Maybe I should've started with the treadmill first. I don't think you'll be able to do the other exercises without doing a warm-up." Sandy took off her boxing gloves and dropped them to the floor of the ring. She jumped off the ring and walked to the treadmill wheel.

SpongeBob smiled and quickly followed her. He became thrilled at the thought of doing an exercise that wasn't as punishing to his muscles as the previous ones.

Sandy stopped walking and stood in front of the wheel. "Stand in it." She pointed at the wheel.

SpongeBob climbed into the wheel.

"Run!" Sandy took out an timer that looked like an acorn and pressed a red button. The device began to count the time.

SpongeBob ran at a moderate speed. He didn't want to get tired too quickly.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was tired and his shirt was nearly soaked in sweat. As he continued to run, his pace became slower and slower as every single second passed by. His legs were going to reach their limit very soon.

"Feeling the burn?" Sandy looked at the timer and noticed that SpongeBob had been running non-stop for several minutes. That was just the outcome that she expected. The squirrel wanted to know if SpongeBob was trying his best.

"I'm-fee-ling-some-thing!" SpongeBob struggled to speak as he tried to run faster after hearing Sandy's words. One of his feet slipped and he fell to the wheel; the sponge had run too fast. SpongeBob became dizzy as his body went around the wheel and he eventually fell from the wheel and landed on the ground with a loud **THUD**.

Sandy grabbed SpongeBob's arm and assisted him in standing up by pulling his arm. "Well, now that we've got warmed up, it's time for the arm-cruncher." She thought that SpongeBob was now prepared to do more rigorous exercise.

"Arm-cruncher, great." SpongeBob was confident in his physical abilities after doing that warm-up and felt like he could take on any new challenge. However, he didn't know what that 'arm-cruncher' actually was. The sponge assumed that it was some sort of barbell.

"It's over there." Sandy pointed at the 'arm-cruncher'. The machine consisted of a tall wooden pole where two cement blocks were tied to it by two metal strings. The cement blocks repeatedly swung from the opposite sides and collided into each other over a metal pedestal. Two robots made sure that the cement blocks continued to swing and hit each other, they knew exactly where to grab the strings so the blocks can swing at an equal speed. There was an open strap on the metal pedestal where an arm was supposed to go through to begin the exercise.

SpongeBob's eyes slowly widened in horror and his face drained of color. "This squirrel's trying to kill me!" He perceived the arm-cruncher as some sort of torture device.

"What're you waiting for, SpongeBob? Let's get to it!" Sandy grabbed SpongeBob's arm and dragged him to the machine. She put the sponge's arm on the strap and closed it.

SpongeBob gulped as the cement blocks swung down.

Time slowed.

**SLAM**

The two cement blocks hit SpongeBob's arm instead of colliding into each other.

An unbearable pain shot through SpongeBob's arm.

Time resumed.

"**AAAaaaaAAAAAaaaAAAAHHHH!**" SpongeBob yelled in agony as he continued the exercise.

S-S-S-S-S

Thirty minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob was in the living room. He was sitting on the couch with Gary and they were watching TV. He had returned to his home after he finished that brutal arm-cruncher exercise at Sandy's treedome. It was difficult to move his arms because they throbbed in pain from the relentless workout.

The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnarcle Boy ended and a commercial was shown. There was a muscular shark who was wearing fake arm muscles that had a light red color. "_Hey, you!_" The shark pointed at the screen that was in front of him. "_Are you too much of a wimp to work out? Are you a weakling built like a sponge? Well, now you too can have muscles._"

"Huh?" SpongeBob heard what the shark had said. That commercial was well-timed since the sponge had recently survived an unbearable workout and he paid attention the the TV screen.

"_With anchor arms!_" The shark took off the anchor arm from one of his arms and put it on again. "_They slip on like a glove. Just add air." _The shark took out a plug and put one end of it into his mouth while he put another end into one of the anchor arms. "_How big do you want 'em?_" He blew into the plug and enlarged the anchor arm, he put the plug into the other arm and did the same thing. "_Normal?_" The shark blew into the plug and eventually enlarged the anchor arms to a bigger size. "_Veiny?_ _And for the ladies..._" The shark blew a small amount of air into both arms by blowing into the plug and made the anchor arms grow hair as if they were real. "_...hairy._" The TV screen changed to an older photo of the shark where he wasn't muscular, didn't wore anchor arms, wore glasses and braces on his teeth; and wore nerdy clothing. "_I was a wimp before anchor arms._" The TV screen changed back to the older and muscular shark. "_Now, I'm a jerk and everybody loves me._" He flexed his fake muscles. "_So order now, wimp!_" A phone number popped up on the bottom of the screen for several seconds. The commercial ended and switched to another commercial.

"Wow, now that's a good idea!" SpongeBob smiled widely and stood up from the couch. The anchor arms were the key to escaping Sandy's exercise regimen.

"Meow meow meow meow meow." Gary warned SpongeBob that the commercial could be faulty so that the company who made the anchor arms could gain more money.

"Don't worry, Gary." SpongeBob petted the snail. "I think those anchor arms were advertised honestly. That ad wasn't faulty at all." He tried to assure Gary.

Gary sighed.

"Anyways, I wanna be just like that guy on TV. Yeah..." The sponge imagined himself wearing those anchor arms. "...I've gotta get to a phone!" SpongeBob stopped daydreaming and walked to the shell-phone and picked it up. He dialed a phone number and put the phone near his ear.

A pause.

An electronic voice was heard.

"I would like to order some anchor arms." SpongeBob spoke into the phone.

The person on the other end asked a question.

"Just for one person." SpongeBob said the quantity of his order.

The person asked for SpongeBob's address.

"124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom." SpongeBob said his address into the phone.

The person asked for SpongeBob's name.

"SpongeBob SquarePants." SpongeBob said his name.

The person's electronic voice said the amount of time it will take for the anchor arms to be delivered.

"In less than a hour?! Yes!" SpongeBob pumped his fist and put the phone down. 'I was afraid that it would take a few days for it to get here.' He thought to himself.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

Someone knocked on the pineapple's front door.

"It's already here!" SpongeBob became excited and ran to the front door. He thought that the person delivering the anchor arms had knocked on the door.

**CRREEEAAAK**

SpongeBob opened the door and saw Patrick instead. "Oh. Hey, Pat." His wide smile lessened to a smirk.

"You seen that episode of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy?" Patrick had watched the same show that SpongeBob had seen on TV.

"Yep. I didn't know that Man Ray could do that." SpongeBob tried his best to contain his excitement for the anchor arms.

"Why're you giddy?" Patrick already noticed what SpongeBob was feeling.

"I saw this commercial after the show about anchor arms and I just ordered it. It's coming right now." SpongeBob looked behind Patrick to see if there was a person carrying a box. No one was behind Patrick.

"Oh. Those fake muscles?" Patrick flexed his muscles. "Why do you want to get them?"

"I want them because I wanna look cool and make Sandy think that I don't need to do her exercises." SpongeBob flexed his muscles.

"Anyways, you wanna go to Goo Lagoon? I'm kinda bored at my home." Patrick wanted SpongeBob to come along with him to Goo Lagoon.

A lightbulb lit up in SpongeBob's head. "Perfect!" The sponge smiled widely again.

"What's perfect?" Patrick scratched his head.

"I'll definitely go with you to Goo Lagoon. It would be the perfect place to show off my anchor arms. But we gotta wait for my delivery first." SpongeBob walked to his mailbox and stood next to it. He continued to wait for the anchor arms.

S-S-S-S-S

A minute later...

S-S-S-S-S

A boatmobile parked in front of SpongeBob's pineapple. A deliveryman came out of the vehicle and was carrying a clipboard and a box.

SpongeBob gasped and walked up to the deliveryman.

"Are you SpongeBob SquarePants?" The deliveryman asked the sponge a question.

"Yeah!" SpongeBob nodded his head rapidly.

"Sign this." The deliveryman gave SpongeBob a pen and the clipboard.

SpongeBob signed his name on the clipboard and gave it and the pen back to the deliveryman.

"Here you go." The deliveryman handed the box to SpongeBob and walked back to the boatmobile. He sat in the vehicle and drove it to the horizon.

**CRRREEEAAAK**

SpongeBob opened the front door of his pineapple. "C'mon Pat, let's open it." He signaled with his hand for Patrick to follow him. The sponge entered the pineapple.

Patrick entered the pineapple as well and followed SpongeBob.

**SLAM**

The sea star closed the door.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob dropped the box to the floor of the living room. He then opened the lids of the box and took out the anchor arms. The sponge put them on but they only fit his arms and didn't made the muscular.

Patrick searched through the box and found the pump. "What's this?" He became curious and wanted to know what this strange object was.

SpongeBob took the pump from Patrick's hands. "Thanks, Pat." He put one end of the pump on his mouth while he put the other end on one of the anchor arms. In the center of the pump was a meter that went from 'WIMP' to 'JERK'. The sponge blew into the pump and the arrow on the meter moved to 'NORMAL'. The anchor arm inflated until it looked muscular. SpongeBob did the same thing to the other anchor arm.

"That looks so cool! I bet people are gonna think that those are my actual arms if I wore them." Patrick looked at the anchor arms with wonder and noticed that they had the same color as his skin.

"Wanna go to Goo Lagoon now? I'll probably become popular really really fast when everybody in the beach sees my new muscles." SpongeBob flexed his muscles and exited the pineapple.

Patrick put on a pair of sunglasses and followed SpongeBob.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward was laying down on a lounger in his front yard. He was pleasantly reading a novel and was content since SpongeBob and Patrick hadn't bothered him early in the morning.

"Hi, Squidward!" SpongeBob waved at Squidward as he and Patrick walked across the neighborhood.

Squidward looked up and saw the fake muscles that SpongeBob had. "SpongeBob?" His eyes bugged out in shock. 'No wonder SpongeBob didn't annoy me yet.' He tried to find a reason for why SpongeBob had those large muscles on his arms.

S-S-S-S-S

A few more minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick were walking down the street and were near Mr. Krabs' anchor.

**CRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs exited the anchor and had Mr. Doodles on a leash. He was beginning to walk his pet worm.

"Ahoy, Mr. Krabs!" SpongeBob waved at his boss and then flexed his anchor arms.

"Mother of Pearl!" Mr. Krabs' jaw dropped in shock. He assumed that he didn't know that SpongeBob was a bodybuilder as well as a fry cook.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob and Patrick entered Goo Lagoon. They walked towards a group of bodybuilders who were lifting weights both big and small.

"Hi, guys." SpongeBob smirked and flexed his muscles at the bodybuilders.

Larry saw SpongeBob and immediately lowered the barbell that he was lifting. The lobster walked up to the sponge with widened eyes. "SpongeBob, is that you?" He was in total disbelief and stared at SpongeBob's anchor arms.

SpongeBob stood on his hands. "Who were you expecting, Tiny Tim? Wait... wait..." He flexed the anchor arms while he stood on his hands and enlarged them slightly. "They're big aren't they?" The sponge tried to the best of his ability to impress Larry since that lobster was the second strongest bodybuilder in Bikini Bottom.

"Dude, you're ripped!" Larry had to state the obvious so he could accept the fact that what he was seeing was reality.

"Thanks. I've been working out. Excuse me for a second." SpongeBob flexed his 'muscles' again and enlarged them even more. "Yeah. Anyone up for the juice bar?" He walked towards a nearby juice bar.

Larry, Patrick, and a few other bodybuilders followed SpongeBob and they all entered the juice bar. They sat on a few seats.

S-S-S-S-S

"I'm tellin' ya, he's huge!" Scooter entered the juice bar and pointed at the sponge. His friend had followed him and weren't believing what Scooter said until now.

"Larry, what happened?" Sandy walked into the juice bar and asked Larry a question. She was lifting weights with the group of bodybuilders and wondered why Larry left the group all of a sudden.

"I start off with twenty raw eggs everyday. But that's just me." SpongeBob began to boast to the bodybuilders about how he got 'ripped'. He was becoming distracted from the real reason that he bought the anchor arms.

"Pardon me." Sandy tapped SpongeBob's shoulder. She tried to interrupt the sponge as politely as possible since he was telling a story.

The sponge ignored Sandy. "Working out is my life! I remember when I used to look like that guy over there." SpongeBob pointed at a nerdy-looking man who had thin muscles and was drinking some juice.

"Who, me?" The young man looked at SpongeBob and raised his brow.

Everybody in the bar except for Sandy and Patrick laughed.

Patrick narrowed his eyes after he saw what SpongeBob just did. His intelligence increased rapidly and he thought critically for a minute.

"Here's your drink, sir." The bartender handed SpongeBob a cup of orange juice.

"Thank you." SpongeBob drank all of the juice in the cup in only a few gulps. He then looked at Sandy. "So what were you gonna say?"

"Where'd you get those muscles?" Sandy asked a question that popped up in her mind when she entered the juice bar. She found it quite strange that SpongeBob had muscular arms in less then a hour.

"I've created my own workout routine that's given me amazing results." SpongeBob said an excellent lie. He showed no signs of nervousness and was confident that he could hide the truth with ease. One of his anchor arms abruptly slipped off somewhat. "Whoops!" He quickly slipped it back on while nobody noticed. "Yeah, I have never felt better." The sponge smiled widely.

"Heck, what's your secret?" Sandy became curious and wanted to know how SpongeBob gained those muscles so quickly.

"What?" SpongeBob was somewhat confused and didn't really understand what Sandy said.

"Your secret workout. What is it?" Sandy asked her question in a more clear manner.

Larry, Scooter and his friends, the bodybuilders, the bartender, and other people in the bar surrounded SpongeBob. They heard Sandy's question and wanted to know the secret as well.

SpongeBob thought of a lie that he could tell them that wouldn't make them realize that his muscles were anchor arms. "Hmmm... I, uhh... first I take my hand..." He put his hand under his armpit. "...And I do this..."

**TOOT**

The sponge made a farting noise with his armpit.

"Are you kidding?" Larry raised his brow and became skeptical of SpongeBob's claim.

"Do these muscles lie?" SpongeBob flexed his muscles so as to change Larry's mind.

The other bodybuilders in the bar began to make farting noises with their armpits so they could become just as muscular as SpongeBob.

"I'm glad to see you found an exercise program that works for you." Sandy smiled, she was content that SpongeBob had retained what she taught him about bodybuilding and made her teachings even better.

"Yeah, your workout routine wasn't quite tough enough for me." SpongeBob said a blatant lie but knew that Sandy wouldn't bother to figure out if his muscles were real or not since the squirrel thought that the anchor arms were real muscles and that his workout routine worked.

"Can't argue with those results. What you need to do now is put those muscles to the test." Sandy tried to intimidate SpongeBob to see if he would accept a challenge from the strongest bodybuilder in the town.

SpongeBob sweatdropped and his face drained of color. What Sandy said was one of the worst and most embarrassing ways that his muscles could be revealed to be anchor arms. "Uhh, what do you mean?" He pretended to be ignorant.

"The big Goo Lagoon anchor tossing competition. You heard about it?" Sandy began to explain about what her 'test' for SpongeBob was.

"Yeah. I've also seen it a few times." SpongeBob said something that was true.

"Anyways, the competition is gonna start today and almost everybody in the beach will be there." Sandy continued her explanation.

"Here's another drink." The bartender passed a cup full of lemon iced tea to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob grabbed the cup and quickly drank the tea.

"Hey, with those arms, you'll do great!" Sandy looked at SpongeBob's anchor arms closely and became confident that the sponge will perform well in the competition.

"Uhh, well, I'm not sure." SpongeBob began to show signs of nervousness and stood up from his seat. He wanted to avoid the competition in a certain way so people wouldn't give him a funny look and begin to question his appearance.

"C'mon, let's go." Sandy grabbed SpongeBob's arm and dragged him out of the bar.

Patrick somewhat envied SpongeBob because he was becoming popular quickly and the sponge abandoned his best friend in the process. However, he knew better than to find a way to get some sweet revenge on SpongeBob since that would no longer make him a loyal friend. The sea star also realized after he thought critically that SpongeBob wouldn't be able to impress the bodybuilders in the beach for much longer once someone question or tests his strength. He knew that this was what Sandy just did. The pink star got out of his seat and exited the juice bar so he could warn his best friend.

S-S-S-S-S

"Here it is, the sign-in list." Sandy walked up to a paper taped to a wooden pole that had a list of signed names.

'Oh no.' SpongeBob's eyes bugged out.

Sandy took out a pen and began to sign her name on the list.

"Sandy, wait!" SpongeBob tried to grab Sandy's arm so she wouldn't sign his name.

**SLAM**

He hit the wooden pole instead.

Sandy finished signing her name and then signed SpongeBob's name on the list. "It's okay, SpongeBob, I already signed your name in." She smiled and released SpongeBob's arm from her grasp.

**THUD**

The sponge fell to the ground and stood back up. "Oh, great. Thanks, Sandy." The words he spoke weren't sincere and had a tone of sadness in them. He frowned and looked at the ground. The moment that Sandy signed his name on the list, she sealed SpongeBob's fate. An embarrassing revelation during the competition was bound to happen.

"C'ya there, SpongeBob." Sandy walked to a field where bodybuilders were practicing for the competition and where there was several giant anchors. The squirrel knew before the competition even began that she was going to win 1st place due to her excessive pride in her physical abilities.

SpongeBob leaned on the pole and his face lost all signs of expression as he contemplated about the several ways he could accidentally reveal the secret of the anchor arms during the competition for what seemed to him like an eternity. One thought eventually stood out in his mind, trying to avoid Sandy's exercise regime by wearing fake muscles wasn't going to last for very long once someone puts them to the test and he should've tried to do Sandy's exercises again and not give up. Trying to hide the embarrassing truth from everybody wasn't going to make his actual muscles any stronger.

Patrick walked up to SpongeBob. He had seen what had just happened. The sea star made eye contact with the sponge and nodded his head in silence. "I think you already know. Anyways, c'ya around, SpongeBob." The sea star knew from SpongeBob's facial expression that the sponge was thinking what he was thinking. He walked to an unoccupied part of the beach's ground, laid down on it, and allowed the sun to tan him.

SpongeBob stopped leaning on the pole and gulped nervously. He slowly walked to the field as an acceptance of his fate.

S-S-S-S-S

Twenty minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The bleachers that were near the field brimmed with spectators. One of these spectators was Patrick but he wasn't cheering for his friend. He had an accurate prediction about how SpongeBob was going to perform in the competition.

"_We're on! Welcome to the Goo Lagoon 8th annual anchor toss competition._" A lifeguard who was sitting in a nearby lifeguard tower managed to turn his megaphone on and spoke into it. He announced the beginning of the competition.

"Ready, SpongeBob?" Sandy stopped practicing and walked up to SpongeBob to see what he was doing.

"Oh, yeah. Great. No problem." SpongeBob wore a smile and tried to hide his anxiety.

"Good luck, then." Sandy turned around and walked away.

SpongeBob took out the pump while nobody noticed and rapidly enlarged both of his anchor arms. He put the pump away and then looked at the lifeguard tower for the next announcement.

"_First up, Don the Whale._" The lifeguard spoke into the megaphone.

A whale called Don lifted up the anchor in front of him and threw it across the field with all of the strength in his arms.

The anchor landed and kicked up a large plume of sand.

Another lifeguard measured the distance between Don and the anchor with some measuring tape. He started to run from Don and stopped before the anchor while the end of the tape firmly stuck to the ground. "200 yards!" He yelled his measurement and retracted the tape.

The crowd clapped.

"_Up next, Larry the Lobster._" The lifeguard announced the next competitor.

Larry picked up the anchor in front of him and twirled it before he threw across the field.

**SLAM**

The anchor landed in front of the previously thrown anchor and the lifeguard flinched since the anchor nearly hit him. He then measured the distance between the two anchors with his measuring tape. "210 yards!"

The crowd yelled and whistled for Larry.

Sandy grabbed the anchor that was in front of her.

"_Here goes, Sandy Cheeks._" The lifeguard spoke who was going next into the megaphone.

Sandy tossed the anchor into the air and karate kicked it. The anchor flew across the field at a lightning-fast speed and landed near the edge of the field.

The other lifeguard measured the distance between Larry's anchor and Sandy's anchor and added the total distance in his head. "510 yards!"

"_Wow! Fabulous!_" The lifeguard in the tower commented on Sandy's performance.

Nearly everybody sitting in the bleachers stood up from their seats and chanted Sandy's first name.

"Beat that, SpongeBob!" Sandy made a second attempt at intimidating SpongeBob. She thought that SpongeBob couldn't beat the distance that she made.

SpongeBob could no longer hide his anxiety. Large amounts of sweat ran down from his brow.

"_Up next, SpongeBob SquarePants._" The lifeguard announced that it was SpongeBob's turn to throw an anchor.

The yellow sponge bit his lip, began to hear his heartbeat, and his face changed to a light yellow.

The crowd made farting sounds with their armpits and chanted SpongeBob's first name as a way of cheering for the sponge.

SpongeBob took a deep breath and grabbed the anchor. He tried to lift it up but...

**THUD**

He slipped and fell to the ground due to his arms exerting too much force. The sponge then stood up and smiled nervously. "Just kidding. Just kidding." SpongeBob tried to brush off the minor accident as a joke.

The crowd in the bleachers and some of the bodybuilders in the field laughed.

"That SpongeBob is funnier than ears on an acorn." Sandy giggled and commented on SpongeBob's joke.

SpongeBob became even more nervous. The crowd laughing was just a glimpse into what was inevitably going to happen. 'Oh, this is it. They're all gonna find out I'm a fake. I can't give up. I've got to try. I can do it! I've got anchor arms!' He mentally assured himself that he can minimize his embarrassment. "I'm no wimp, I'm a jerk!" He yelled and took out the pump. He enlarged both of his anchor arms until the arrow in the meter pointed to 'JERK'. SpongeBob put the pump away and stomped to the anchor. He grabbed it and tried to lift it with all of his might.

The anchor didn't move off the ground by a single centimeter. SpongeBob's second attempt to lift the anchor wasn't affecting it at all.

SpongeBob noticed that large amounts of air was coming out of the holes of his back. He then looked down and realized that his anchor arms were shrinking. "Uh oh."

**P-POP!**

The anchor arms exploded into pink shreds and was blown away from the beach by the wind.

SpongeBob fell to the ground due to the force of the explosion.

Everybody in the bleachers and in the field became silent.

"I think he lost." One of the spectators in the bleachers broke the silence.

The crowd then resumed their chanting of Sandy's first name.

The lifeguard in the tower then announced the next competitor's turn.

Sandy stomped up to SpongeBob and stood in front of him while tapping her foot. She then signaled with her hand for SpongeBob to follow her. The squirrel then walked away. She was definitely angry at the sponge for lying to her.

SpongeBob stood up and followed her. He was frowning and looked at the ground as he walked.

"Wait for me!" Patrick jumped off the bleacher and caught up with SpongeBob.

"Hey, Pat." SpongeBob spoke quietly.

"Cheer up, buddy." Patrick patted the sponge on the back. "Sandy might show you an exercise you can do so you can look strong without those anchor arms."

"I guess you're right." SpongeBob shrugged his shoulders. He then walked up to Sandy and whispered to her ear. "Can we forget that ever happened?"

"Only if we find an exercise you can do." Sandy didn't give eye contact to SpongeBob and continued to walk. She wasn't going to lighten her mood so quickly.

S-S-S-S-S

Thirty minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy were sitting on a couch in the squirrel's treedome's oak tree. The sponge and sea star were wearing fish bowls. The three were watching TV.

"Ninety-six. Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine. One-hundred." SpongeBob was changing the channel on the TV by constantly pressing a button on the remote.

"I want one-hundred more." Sandy made sure that SpongeBob wasn't going to end the exercise early.

"It hurts." SpongeBob's tired arm shook as he struggled to hold the remote. "One. Two. Three. Four."

"I think we finally found an exercise for you, SpongeBob." Sandy smiled, laid back on the couch, and relaxed.


	18. The Chaperone

**Chapter 18: The Chaperone**

* * *

Three days later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob sniffed a Krabby Patty that he just made as a way of checking if he missed any ingredients. He then squirted some mustard on top of the patty and put a bun on top so he could complete the burger. "Okay." The yellow sponge made a thumbs-up and put the burger on a plate. SpongeBob then put the plate and the Krabby Patty in tow on the ordering window.

**DING DING DING**

SpongeBob rung the bell. "Order up!"

Squidward took the Krabby Patty and walked to the customer who ordered the burger.

S-S-S-S-S

Mr. Krabs had a thought that was stuck in his mind as he checked the money in his safe. It was about something that occurred in the morning before the Krusty Krab was opened on that day. 'Pearl should've called me by now. I wonder what happened to her date.' He became nervous and sweatdropped as he thought of what might happen if Pearl's date dumped her. He was aware that there was going to be a prom at Pearl's high school and that Pearl told him earlier in the day that she will call Mr. Krabs when his date agreed to go with her to the prom.

Mr. Krabs glanced at the shell-phone in his office and then resumed his checking of the money in his safe.

S-S-S-S-S

**SLAM**

A heavily upset Pearl barged into the Krusty Krab and bawled loudly. Numerous tears were running down her cheeks.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob looked through the ordering window and became concerned for the whale.

S-S-S-S-S

Squidward covered his ears so he didn't have to hear Pearl's loud bawling. He was irritated by the loud noises that were assailing his ears.

**CRRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

Mr. Krabs exited his office. "Don't cry, love. Daddy's going to make it all right. Calm down, girl!" The crab walked up to his daughter and tried to calm her down.

"Mr. Krabs, what's wrong with Pearl?" SpongeBob walked up to Mr. Krabs and wanted to know the reason why Pearl was bawling. He cared for this person that he only met several days ago.

"Her scurvy prom date stood her up, boy, and now she can't seem to find another." Mr. Krabs spoke solemnly.

SpongeBob bit his lip after hearing Mr. Krabs' words. He felt sympathy for the whale since what is happening to her is nearly the equivalent of losing his best friend, Patrick.

"That's because t-there's only one fish in the sea that's long, tan and handsome as h-he is. And that's him!" Pearl managed to speak and then bursts back into tears. What she said made herself even more sorrowful.

"No, no baby, no more crying. We'll get you a date. Why, uhh..." Mr. Krabs thought for several seconds about a replacement for Pearl's date.

An awkward pause.

"I'll take you!" Mr. Krabs made a slight smile because he didn't know if Pearl calmed down or not.

SpongeBob immediately cringed after hearing what Mr. Krabs said.

Pearl bawled louder than before and more tears raced down her cheeks. Mr. Krabs didn't help her at all.

"Well, what about Squidward?" Mr. Krabs pointed at the octopus in desperation.

"You've gotta be kidding me. There's no way in hell that I'm going with her." Squidward shook his head and folded his arms. Taking Pearl to the prom was the last thing on his mind after hearing her bawling.

Pearl's bawling became even louder and the floor was nearly shaking.

"Wait, wait. Here, take SpongeBob!" Mr. Krabs smiled widely and grabbed the sponge. The crustacean held him in front of Pearl. The crab knew that SpongeBob was a loyal employee and would do almost any favor from his boss.

"Ahh, the fry cook? Do you know what that would do to my complexion? People would mistake me for a planetarium." Pearl gave SpongeBob a funny look. She didn't want him to come to the prom with her.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Krabs scratched his head. He almost didn't understand the modern generation of teenagers at all.

"I don't know. But I can't take him, daddy! They'll kick me off the committee that's most frequently pictured in the yearbook." Pearl didn't want her status in her high school to become ruined.

"Yeah, they would. We've got to find someone else." Mr. Krabs dropped SpongeBob to the floor and turned around. "Listen up! Which one of you lucky lubbers wants to take me lovely daughter Pearl to the prom?" He yelled at the customers that were in the dining room.

All of the males in the restaurant except for SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs shook their head.

Pearl sighed, by that time she had stopped crying. "Just don't be late, SpongeBob." The whale had no other choice.

**C-CRRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Pearl exited the Krusty Krab.

"Now listen boy, I'm-a counting on you to make this a very special night for a very special girl. Remember, you're doing it for good old Mr. Krabs." Mr. Krabs put one of his hands on SpongeBob's shoulder and explained what the sponge had to do.

"Really? Oh, wow! Don't worry Mr. Krabs, I am a prom expert!" SpongeBob made a military salute. However, he had said a lie so Mr. Krabs didn't have to worry about the prom anymore.

S-S-S-S-S

Several hours later...

It was 6:18 PM.

S-S-S-S-S

"Oh Gary, I'm a prom failure. I couldn't even get a date for my own junior prom." SpongeBob was sitting on his couch in the living room and was looking down at the floor. He felt that he had made a mistake when he agreed to do Mr. Krabs a favor by taking Pearl to the prom. He was in a state of self-doubt because he thought that him and Pearl might be insulted by her peers when they get to the prom due to the ridiculousness of them as a couple.

"Meow meow meow." Gary slithered up to the sponge.

"No, that was Patrick who brought his mom. Besides, how am I supposed to compare with Pearl's old boyfriend who was long, tan, and handsome?" SpongeBob thought that he couldn't replace the whale's previous boyfriend.

"Meow." Gary had something inside his shell.

"What is it Gary? What do you have?" SpongeBob became curious.

Gary went into his shell and came back out with a magazine that was being held by his mouth.

SpongeBob took the magazine and looked at the cover. The title of the magazine was 'Long, Tan, and Handsome' in red text and the cover featured a handsome young man in a tuxedo. The sponge then flipped and scanned through the pages of the magazine. "Hey Gary, this magazine gives me an idea!" He closed the magazine and stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go on a little shopping spree. Wanna come along?" SpongeBob looked at the snail.

Gary slithered up SpongeBob's back and stopped on top of his head.

"Let's go!" SpongeBob walked to the front door.

**CRREEEAAK**

**SLAM**

The sponge exited his pineapple with Gary while still holding the magazine so he could know what to buy.

S-S-S-S-S

Twenty minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRRREEEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob opened the front door and entered the pineapple, he was holding a large amount of stuff that he bought. Gary slithered behind him and entered the building as well.

The sponge entered the kitchen and walked to a table. He dropped everything to the wooden table and took out some black fabric from the large pile. SpongeBob then took a pair of scissors from the pile and cut the fabric in half. The sponge took out a needle and a roll of string and put the string through the hole of the needle. He then sewed the fabric together and eventually made a black coat and pants out of the fabric by cutting the fabric in half again and continuing to sew. SpongeBob took some white fabric and made a white shirt out of it by cutting the fabric and sewing it together.

SpongeBob wiped some sweat off his brow and exited the kitchen. He eventually walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob twisted the faucet and the water stopped showering, he was finished with his shower. The sponge wrapped a towel around his lower body and opened the curtain. The sponge stepped out of the shower and walked to a sink where a cabinet with a mirror covering it was above it. He brushed his teeth and washed his face while looking at himself in the mirror.

**CRRREEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

He exited the bathroom and walked through the rooms of the house until he got into the kitchen. He picked up the pile on the table and went to the bedroom. He sat on his bed inside the bedroom and taped his feet to a pair of prosthetic legs that had shoes and socks being worn on their metal feet. SpongeBob wanted to be around the same height as Pearl so they could look like a normal couple. The sponge then put on his tuxedo and put on a wig that consisted of black hair so he could look extra-handsome. He then put a flower inside the pocket of his tuxedo as a way of putting a cherry on top of the 'cake' that he 'made'. SpongeBob exited his bedroom and clumsily walked downstairs, he was getting used to walking on prosthetic legs. The sponge walked through the kitchen and entered the living room. "Okay, Gary. Wait till Pearl gets an eyeful of this!" SpongeBob felt confident that he had a handsome-enough appearance to go to the prom with Pearl.

"M-meow?" Gary stopped watching TV and smirked, he tried his best to not chuckle. The snail thought that SpongeBob looked silly in that outfit.

'What's funny?" SpongeBob smirked as well and wanted to know why Gary was chuckling.

"Meow meow." Gary shook his head and leaned his head towards the front door.

"Hold on." SpongeBob walked to the shell-phone and picked up a phone book that was adjacent to it. He flipped through the yellow pages and put his finger on the phone number that he wanted. "Aha!" The yellow square put the phone book down and picked up the shell-phone. He dialed the number and put the phone near his ear. He had called Bikini Bottom Limousine Service.

An electronic voice came from the phone.

"I wanna take my girlfriend to the prom so can you come right over? I live at 124 Conch Street. I'll tell you where to go once you get here." SpongeBob spoke into the phone and slightly blushed as he pretended that Pearl was his girlfriend.

The person on the other end told him the price.

"I'll pay you directly from my bank account. My name is SpongeBob SquarePants." SpongeBob spoke a bit more of his personal information into the phone.

An electronic voice assured SpongeBob that they will get to his home as soon as possible.

"Alright." SpongeBob put the shell-phone down and sat next to Gary as he waited for the limousine. He watched the TV with the snail and focused on the screen so time would pass quickly.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**DING DONG**

Someone rung the doorbell.

SpongeBob grinned and stood up from the couch. He walked to the front door and opened it. The sponge saw a middle-aged green man in a fancy suit. A parked limousine was behind him by a few feet.

"You must be called SpongeBob, am I right?" The man asked the yellow sponge a question. He was the driver of the limousine.

"Yep." SpongeBob nodded and walked to the limousine. He opened one of the doors and entered the vehicle.

The driver entered the limousine as well and sat in the driver's seat. Both the driver's seat and the shotgun seat were separated from the other seats by a glass window behind the two seats and there was a hole where people can talk with the driver.

SpongeBob began to give the driver the directions to Mr. Krabs' house by speaking into the hole.

S-S-S-S-S

A few minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The limousine parked in front of Mr. Krabs' anchor.

SpongeBob told the driver to wait by speaking through the hole and exited the limousine. He walked up to the front door of the anchor.

**DING DONG**

The sponge rung the doorbell.

**CRRREEEAAAK**

"Hello?" Mr. Krabs opened the front door.

SpongeBob tried to make eye contact with Mr. Krabs since his legs made him taller than the doorway.

"What do you think Pearl? Cleans up pretty well, doesn't he?" Mr. Krabs turned around and spoke to his daughter.

"Well, at last no one will recognize you. Now listen, SpongeBob, I just want to get through this with my social status intact." Pearl walked through the doorway and stood in front of SpongeBob. She was wearing a fancy pink dress.

SpongeBob took out a notepad and a pencil. He wanted to write down what Pearl wanted to do so he won't mess anything up during the prom.

"I want to go to the prom, get my picture taken, and I want to dance..." Pearl began to tell SpongeBob the things she wanted to do.

SpongeBob jotted what she said into the notepad as fast as he could.

S-S-S-S-S

Several seconds later...

S-S-S-S-S

"...I want to drink punch with my friends and don't do that other thing you're always doing..." Pearl was still telling SpongeBob what she wanted to do at the prom.

SpongeBob had written down an unusually large list by now. "Uhh, Pearl, we've got to get back to the limo." He turned his head around somewhat so he could look at the limousine.

Pearl clapped her hands together. "A limo! Why didn't you say so?" She grabbed SpongeBob's arm and dragged him to the limousine. "I love limousines!"

The sponge put the notepad and pencil away as Pearl dragged her.

Pearl released SpongeBob's arm from her grasp and they both entered the limousine.

"Go easy on him, lassie! I can't afford to break in a new fry cook!" Mr. Krabs yelled at Pearl and made a pirate laugh.

**SLAM**

The crab closed the front door.

Pearl told the driver the directions to her high school by speaking into the hole through the window.

S-S-S-S-S

Several minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

The limousine parked in front of a large building that was Pearl's high school.

SpongeBob and Sandy exited the limousine. The vehicle that was behind them drove to the horizon.

SpongeBob took out his notepad and looked at the list that he had jotted down. "Well, I guess the first thing we should do is-" He saw a bright flash and stopped talking.

One of the staff members in the school was taking photos of people attending the prom.

"Yay! My first prom picture!" Pearl ran to the staff member.

"Uh, uh, uh..." SpongeBob became embarrassed that he had to be in a photo while wearing his outfit. He thought that he in a tuxedo would look better in real life than in a photo.

"C'mon, SpongeBob." Pearl grabbed SpongeBob's arm and dragged him until they were in front of the staff member. The previous people whose photo was taken had walked away. "Let's get this over with." The whale smiled for the camera.

"Cheese!" SpongeBob stood up and grinned so he could look good in the photo. He tried his best not to look nervous.

A bright flash.

The staff member took the photo.

"Phew." SpongeBob wiped some sweat off his brow and walked to a double door with Pearl. They were going to the back entrance of the gym where the prom was taking place.

**CRRREEEAAAK**

**SLAM**

They entered the gym. Numerous students and other people were talking to each other and there were several tables that had several different types of food in bowls on top of them. Loud music was being blasted into the room by a stereo system that was being controlled by a DJ.

"Hey look, it's Pearl!" One of Pearl's friends who was her best friend saw Pearl and pointed at her. She walked up to Pearl and Pearl's other friends followed the friend.

"SpongeBob, here come my friends. Uhh, go get me some punch!" Pearl whispered loudly into SpongeBob's ear.

"Prom expert, away!" SpongeBob made a military salute and jumped away from Pearl by using his prosthetic legs.

"Hi, Pearl!" Pearl's best friend greeted the whale.

"Hi, girls." Pearl smiled and waved at her friends.

"I'd like you to meet Billy Fishkins!" Pearl's best friend stepped aside and allowed an anchovy who was wearing glasses and was named Billy to walk up to Pearl.

"Meep." Billy spoke.

"And you know Will Flounder from math class." Pearl's best friend spoke as another anchovy walked up to the group of friends.

"Meep meep meep." Will spoke.

"Hi Will." Pearl greeted the anchovy.

"So, like, where's your date Pearl? We're all dying to meet him." Pearl's best friend smirked and looked around the gym for Pearl's 'boyfriend'.

"He's over at the punch bowl getting me some punch." Pearl pointed at SpongeBob.

The sponge stood in front of a table that had a bowl full of punch and struggled to pick up the soup spoon that was in the punch since his prosthetic legs were too tall for him to reach the spoon easily. He managed to grab the spoon and then grabbed an empty cup from a pile of cups. He poured the punch into the cup with the spoon and then walked up to Pearl. "Here you go." SpongeBob handed Pearl the cup of punch.

The music in the room was changed to dance music. The people in the room walked up to their partners and began to dance.

SpongeBob gasped and smiled widely. He was confident in his ability to dance. "Let's go!" He grabbed Pearl's arm and they begun to dance in a way that was far more different than the dancing that the other people were doing.

Pearl gave SpongeBob a funny look and stopped dancing. "SpongeBob, what are you doing? Can't you see everybody here is doing 'the whack'?"

"The whack?" SpongeBob looked at the other people that were dancing. He noticed that people were jumping to the air at the same time and colllided into their torsos and then landed on the floor unscathed. The sponge then imitated their dance by trying his best to jump while standing on prosthetic legs.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Pearl raised her brow. She was worried that SpongeBob might make an accident while doing the dance with her.

"Trust me." SpongeBob nodded.

Pearl lowered herself as a way of preparing for her jump.

SpongeBob lowered himself as well.

They jumped at the same time and hit each other in the torso. The two then landed on the floor without getting any injury.

"Told you." SpongeBob smirked.

They continued to do 'the whack'.

S-S-S-S-S

A group of four very familiar students were hanging out around the back entrance of the high school's gym. They couldn't go to the prom because they performed poorly in school.

"I gotta thank Shawn back there for saving our butts from the slammer. It's too bad that he didn't got no mo' money to get the Strangler out." Jack took out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. He took a cigarette, lit it up, and smoked it.

"I heard from my other homies that he's working hard to get the Strangler back in action." Mike was leaning against the wall.

"Can one of you tell me why're we doing nothing again?" Ricky was tossing and catching his baseball cap.

"We're waiting for Shawn to come over and take us somewhere so we can make a plan on getting our revenge on that little sponge." Marcus put on his black jacket after he felt a cold breeze.

"I wonder what they're doin' in there." Mike looked through one of the windows of the double door and saw SpongeBob, Pearl, and other people doing the whack. "Sweet Neptune, guys, that yellow bastard's dancing in there!" Mike gritted his teeth.

"Let me see." Jack looked through the other window of the double door. When he saw SpongeBob, he crushed the pack of cigarettes that was in his hand. "How did that guy in there?! We should've beated him up the moment he stepped a foot into this campus."

Ricky gently pushed Jack out of the way and looked through the window. "Man, Mike was right, he's freaking rich. How the hell can you get fake legs, a giant tuxedo, and a wig without becoming broke?"

"So how are we gonna beat him up then? There's a crapload of people that are gonna see us fighting him. We'll definitely get in trouble with the cops and that'll put all of Shawn's money to waste." Marcus was thinking of ways to pummel SpongeBob as a form of revenge without people witnessing his actions.

"I think I know the trick." Ricky took out a bottle of whisky. "I bought this for my dad but I'm gonna use this to spike the punch bowl. The people in there are gonna be too tipsy to take what we do seriously." He made a wide smile.

"Dude, you're a genius!" Jack patted Ricky on the shoulder.

"No offense to our boss, but you can make plans that are almost just as good as his. Maybe you should be our leader when the Strangler isn't around." Mike smiled and spoke to Ricky.

"What're we wait in' for? Let's do it!" Ricky was about to open the double door.

The others nodded.

**C-CRRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The thugs entered the gym.

S-S-S-S-S

The four thugs walked through the dancing crowd and got to the table with the punch bowl. The people were too busy with their dancing to wonder why the thugs were in the prom. Ricky chuckled as he poured some whisky into the punch. They then walked away and sat an empty table as if nothing happened.

S-S-S-S-S

SpongeBob noticed something from the corner of his eye and stopped dancing. He stopped smiling and made a solemn face. SpongeBob and Pearl had been dancing not too far from the table with the punch bowl.

"What's wrong?" Pearl stopped dancing as well and became concerned for the sponge. She thought that something had had happened and SpongeBob had seen it.

"Someone put something into the punch." SpongeBob spoke in a serious manner and narrowed his eyes on the punch bowl.

"Why would they spike the drinks?" Pearl scratched her head and became curious about what was poured into the punch.

SpongeBob walked up to the table and carefully looked at the punch bowl. He wanted to see if anything suspicious had been put into the juice. The sponge was trying his best to prevent himself from causing an accident and thought that drinking the punch might mess him up if he wasn't watchful.

S-S-S-S-S

"That dude's on to us." Marcus was watching SpongeBob.

"Let's go to our lockers to get our weapons then. The school hadn't inspected the lockers in a while so we're safe. That sponge won't give us another choice." Mike stood up from the table and walked towards the double door that led to a hallway.

The other thugs followed him.

**C-CRRREEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The thugs exited the gym and walked down the hallway.

S-S-S-S-S

They inputted the numbers for their lockers and opened the lockers. Jack took out a pocket knife. Mike took out his metal baseball bat. Marcus took out a pair of brass knuckles and put them on. Ricky took out a taser and made sure that it was turned off so he didn't electrify himself by accident.

**S-S-S-SLAM**

The thugs closed their lockers, walked up the hallway, and re-entered the gym.

S-S-S-S-S

"So, who's gonna get the first hit?" Jack looked at the other thugs.

"Leave it to me." Marcus pointed at himself. "That barnacle head'll be blown out of here by my punches before he'll know it." He then walked up to SpongeBob and waited for the sponge to notice him.

SpongeBob looked up and saw Marcus. His face drained of color and he sweatdropped in anxiety. He was too frightened by the thug to react in the half-second that was given to him. He didn't have his karate gear on and the prosthetic legs had greatly limited his movement. SpongeBob was completely vulnerable to an assault by the thugs.

"S'up." Marcus grinned.

**BAM**

Marcus punched SpongeBob and made him fly across the gym.

**CRRRAAASSSH**

SpongeBob crashed into a table that had several bowls of food. The table was split in half when the yellow square landed on it and all of the food was spilled to the floor. Thanks to his brass knuckles, Marcus's punches became extremely powerful.

The DJ saw this and stopped the dance music. Everybody stopped dancing and looked at SpongeBob and Marcus.

SpongeBob shakily stood up and his vision became blurred. The heavy blow that he received made him extremely dizzy. He noticed that a silhouette holding a long object was getting closer and closer to his vision.

**SMACK**

Mike walked up to the sponge and slapped him across the face. "Batter up!"

**BAM**

He swung his baseball bat with all the strength that he could muster and hit the sponge on the side of his body. SpongeBob flew across the room.

**SLAM**

The yellow sponge landed on one of the walls.

**THUD**

SpongeBob fell to the floor. His arms and legs shook when he tried to stand up and this made it very difficult to do so.

Jack walked to the sponge and stepped on the sponge's back with one of his feet. He crouched then and inched the pocket knife to SpongeBob's skin. "This is what happens when you mess with us." The thug made an evil smile.

All of the people in the gym except for the thugs and SpongeBob gasped. They were petrified in fear and didn't have the guts to stop the thugs from beating up SpongeBob since the four could easily knock all of them out in several minutes.

The gasps faded into a long silence.

"I thought those idiots weren't allowed to be in the prom." Pearl's best friend whispered into the whale's ear.

"It doesn't matter right now, they've got some grudge against SpongeBob." Pearl whispered loudly and watched SpongeBob as she waited for the inevitable.

Jack raised the pocket knife, he was about to carve letters of blood into SpongeBob's back.

**CLINK**

SpongeBob raised one of his legs and kicked the pocket knife out of Jack's hands with accurate precision. The pocket knife flew across the floor and landed near the crowd that was surrounding and watching the thug and the sponge.

Jack's eyes bugged out. "What the hell?!" He turned around and looked at the pocket knife that was laying on the floor.

Pearl sweatdropped and took a deep breath, she might regret what she was about to do. The whale picked up the knife. Out of all the people in the gymnasium to do such an act, it had to be her.

"GIVE THAT BACK!" Jack sprinted to the whale so he could retrieve his weapon.

SpongeBob raised his other leg and made his pant legs fall down to reveal that his legs were actually prosthetic and that his real legs and feet were standing on them. He took the tape off his feet, grabbed the fake legs, and stood up. He tucked the long pant legs into his pants so it didn't limit his movement. His face had a serious expression and almost everybody knew that he wasn't playing any games. While his feet were just in socks, he ran across the gym and towards Jack.

**B-BAM**

SpongeBob swung both of the metal legs and they both hit the back of Jack's head.

Jack fell to the floor in front of Pearl and managed to snatch his pocket knife from the whale's hand. He turned his body in less than a second and landed on the floor back-first. He then thrust the pocket knife towards SpongeBob's chest.

SpongeBob blocked the attack with one of the prosthetic legs. The knife didn't even leave a slight mark on the durable metal. "Everybody get away!" He yelled to the crowd.

All of the students and guests backed away from the sponge and the thugs and hugged the walls of the gym.

Ricky ran towards SpongeBob from behind and turned on his taser. He jumped and thrust the taser towards SpongeBob's back.

SpongeBob noticed that Ricky's shadow was enveloping him and blocked the taser with the other prosthetic leg. He bit his lip as his hand felt a moderate sting since the metal of the leg could conduct electricity.

Ricky collapsed to the ground, dropped the taser, and held the hand that held the taser with the other hand. The electricity from the taser was conducted by the leg and the foot of the prosthetic limb had touched his wrist. His hand was closer to the taser than SpongeBob's hand was and received more pain in the process.

Jack rolled out of the way as an incoming Mike raised his baseball bat.

SpongeBob saw Mike and dove out of the way.

Mike swung his baseball bat but missed.

**SMACK**

SpongeBob slapped Mike across the face with the foot of one of the fake legs as a way of payback for the thug slapping the sponge across the face.

**SLAM**

SpongeBob kicked Mike in the chest and made him fall to the floor.

Marcus charged towards SpongeBob like a bull.

**CLANK**

He tried to punch the sponge but ended up hitting one of the prosthetic legs instead. SpongeBob had blocked his hit.

SpongeBob spun one of the metal legs and threw it towards Marcus's face.

**SMACK**

**BAM**

**SLAM**

**BASH**

**BOFF**

The fake leg hit several parts of Marcus's body. The thug nearly fell to the floor but stopped his fall with his hands. He shakily stood back up and tried to pummel SpongeBob with his brass knuckles. It was too early for him to give up.

**C-C-C-C-CLANK**

SpongeBob blocked every punch made by Marcus with both of his prosthetic legs. He then pushed Marcus with all of his might.

Marcus unsteadily walked backwards and tripped on a chair.

**THUD**

He fell to the floor. Marcus immediately stood up and picked up the chair as if he was a professional wrestler. The thug threw the chair towards SpongeBob.

SpongeBob nimbly dodged the chair. The chair crashed into a table.

Mike stood back up and ran towards SpongeBob with his bat.

Jack dove to the sponge and aimed his pocket knife towards SpongeBob's throat.

Ricky's hand no longer stung and he grabbed the taser. He ran towards SpongeBob so he could give him some electrifying punishment.

SpongeBob hit Jack on the shoulder with a prosthetic leg, deflected the swing of Mike's baseball bat with another fake leg, and dodged the thrust of Ricky's taser.

**S-SLAM**

Two security guards opened the double door that led to the hallway and entered the gym. "**STOP RIGHT THERE!**" One of the security guards shouted at SpongeBob and the thugs. The two then ran towards the combatants.

"Make us." Ricky smirked and ran towards the guards.

**ZZZAAAP**

**ZZAAAP**

Ricky electrified the thugs with his taser.

**T-THUD**

The security guards collapsed to the floor and became unconscious. They didn't stand a chance of stopping the thugs since they didn't even had weapons to use.

Jack endured the hit that he got on his shoulder and tried to stab SpongeBob from behind.

SpongeBob held both prosthetic legs with one hand.

**BAM**

He punched Jack in the stomach.

Jack reeled in pain.

**SHOOP**

SpongeBob karate chopped Jack on the side of his body.

Jack was still standing up, he was stern in getting his revenge on Spongebob. He sliced the knife at Spongebob as if it was a sword.

**CLANK**

SpongeBob now held both fake legs and blocked the pocket knife with one of them.

"Will you give up already?!" Jack became frustrated at SpongeBob's determination to continue fighting.

"When all of you are back in jail." SpongeBob spoke in a solemn voice and his lips didn't curve at all to form a smile. After receiving that punch from Marcus and crashing into a table, he knew that the prom was ruined. He thought that the thugs were an extreme danger to him and everybody nearby since they were the ones that accidentally started a fire and nearly slit Squidward's throat.

Jack held the pocket knife with both of his hands and stabbed down at the sponge.

SpongeBob quickly ducked...

**POW**

...and hit Jack's ankles with one of the metal legs.

**THUD**

Jack tripped on the leg and fell to the floor.

"I'm tired of this crap." Ricky took out the whiskey bottle.

"What're you gonna do?" Marcus looked at the bottle and raised his brow. "You're gonna drink it or somethin'?"

"Nah." Ricky shook his head. "That yellow guy won't expect this." He walked up to the sponge from behind.

SpongeBob immediately saw a baseball bat swinging into his vision.

**CLANK**

SpongeBob blocked the bat with one of the prosthetic legs. However, he couldn't let go because Mike was pushing the bat towards the sponge. The yellow square tried his best to push the bat away.

Mike grabbed the other prosthetic leg and pulled it towards him.

SpongeBob couldn't change his position and his hands were full.

Ricky stood behind SpongeBob and raised the whiskey bottle.

The students and guests yelled at SpongeBob and pointed at something that was above him.

"Huh?" SpongeBob looked up and saw a whiskey bottle.

**CRRAAAASSH**

Ricky swung the bottle down and made it hit SpongeBob's head. The whiskey bottle shattered on the sponge's head and glass shards littered the floor that was near him. The wig fell down and revealed SpongeBob's naked head. The remainder of the bottle that Ricky was holding spilled the rest of the whiskey to SpongeBob's body. The whiskey ran down SpongeBob's body and landed on the floor. The sponge fell to his knees and his eyes became irritated by the spilled whiskey. He dropped the metal legs, closed his eyes, and covered his eyes with his hands. His eyes were stinging from the irritation and the worst part was that SpongeBob could do nothing but wait for it to stop.

**BAM**

**POW **

**SLAM**

**SMACK**

**POW**

**BAM**

**SLAM**

Marcus repeatedly and brutally punched SpongeBob on the back.

**CLANG**

Mike swung his bat and hit SpongeBob's chest.

SpongeBob silently reeled in extreme pain.

Jack sliced his pocket knife through SpongeBob's tuxedo and left a few minor cuts on the sponge's skin.

**SLAM**

He kicked SpongeBob on the back of his head and made him fall to the floor.

The four thugs proceeded to jump on top of the sponge, they did this for several seconds.

Marcus grabbed SpongeBob and lifted him to the air. He then threw him to a table.

**CCRRRAAAASSSHH**

SpongeBob crashed into the table and made all of the empty plates and bowls on it fall to the floor. The sponge moaned and couldn't move his limbs.

"This is the most brutal fight I've ever seen." Pearl's best friend watched the fight and commented on it.

"C'mon Judy, I'm gonna call the cops. SpongeBob can't handle this by himself." Pearl walked to the double door.

Judy followed her.

**C-CRRREEEEAAAK**

**S-SLAM**

The two exited the gym and ran down the hallway.

Mike walked over to the punch bowl and picked it up. "Hey lil' square, you thirsty?" He walked back to the sponge and poured all of the punch over SpongeBob's face. The whiskey in the punch irritated SpongeBob's eyes even more. SpongeBob soaked all of the juice up and became a red cube full of punch.

The four thugs laughed at how SpongeBob looked.

The alcoholic content of the whiskey that was in the punch began to make the sponge feel light-headed. This made SpongeBob shake back to his senses. The sponge quickly blew all of the contaminated punch through his holes and out of his system.

The punch got all over the thugs' clothes.

Marcus looked at his ruined coat and shirt and gritted his teeth, he lost his temper. He picked up SpongeBob once again and twirled him in the air. He then threw him to the double door that led to the hallway.

**S-SLAM**

**CRRRAAASSSH**

SpongeBob flew through the double door and crashed into a locker. The shape of his body was pressed into the door of the locker due to the force of Marcus's throw. His vision was very hazy and he was clinging to consciousness.

**CRRREEEAAAK**

Someone with a baseball cap opened the double door and walked up to the SpongeBob. He was holding something that was giving off sounds of electricity.

**ZZZZZAAAAAAAP**

Ricky thrust the taser into SpongeBob's stomach and electrified him.

"**AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!**" SpongeBob yelled in agony. However, he didn't became unconscious.

"You're still moving? Damn." Ricky was surprised that SpongeBob continued to endure the unbearable torment. He then picked up SpongeBob by the collar of his shredded shirt and pulled him towards his face until the sponge was a few inches away from his face. The thug inched the taser towards SpongeBob's body until it was only centimeters from the yellow sponge's skin. "One more shock from this thing will put ya out for good." He waved his taser as an attempt to intimidate SpongeBob. "And once you're knocked out, I'll make sure that you'll never wake up again." Ricky spoke what the group of thugs immediately thought of when they saw the yellow sponge dancing in the prom. The thugs were going to murder SpongeBob for starting a fight that would led to one of their best and most secret hideouts being burned down. They were seeking vengeance for what SpongeBob and Patrick had done to them and they didn't allow that past opportunity to pass by. The people that were in the prom knew that the group of four were murderous just from seeing the harm they had inflicted on SpongeBob.

"Y-You're a jerk, do y-you k-know that?" SpongeBob managed to speak and had the guts to say what he had spoken. He wouldn't let Ricky and the other thugs who ruined the prom to get away with what they thought were their 'clever' words.

Ricky narrowed his eyes at SpongeBob and lost his temper. "You still trying to spew freaking crap at us?! **GO TO HELL ALREADY!**" He raised his taser so he can give the finishing blow.

The three other thugs walked up to the scene and watched SpongeBob's final moments of consciousness.

S-S-S-S-S

A handsome anchovy that was wearing a fancy tuxedo and was named Octavius Rex looked at SpongeBob through the glass windows of the double door. He was Pearl's ex-boyfriend and wasn't jealous at all for SpongeBob being Pearl's new 'boyfriend'. Rex felt bad for the sponge and was the only person in the crowd that was brave enough to want to find a way to help him. He looked at a fire extinguisher and the prosthetic legs that SpongeBob dropped. A lightbulb lit up in his head. He pushed the crowd out of the way and grabbed the fire extinguisher and then grabbed the metal legs. Rex ran back to the double door.

S-S-S-S-S

**S-SLAM**

Rex barged the double door open.

"The heck?" Ricky dropped SpongeBob and turned around.

The other three thugs turned around as well.

**BONK**

Rex swung the fire extinguisher towards Jack and it hit him on the head. The force of the swing was powerful enough to make Jack fall to the floor and become unconscious.

"Oh no you don't!" Mike swung his baseball bat at Rex.

**CLANG**

Rex blocked the swing with the fire extinguisher and pushed the device towards Mike.

The fire extinguisher was heavier than the baseball bat and this made Mike walk backwards for a few steps.

Marcus attempted to punch Rex.

Rex ducked and dodged the thug's fist.

**BAM**

The anchovy swung the fire extinguisher and made it hit Mike's leg.

**THUD**

Mike fell to the floor and grabbed his injured leg with both of his hands. He couldn't move due to the immense pain coming from the leg that he was holding.

Rex tossed the prosthetic legs to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob saw the faint silhouettes of the metal legs and shook back to his senses. His vision was no longer hazy and he grabbed the legs.

**POW**

SpongeBob thrust one of the legs into Ricky's chest.

Ricky's eyes widened and he fell to the floor because he didn't expect the foot of the leg to hit him. He forgot that SpongeBob was behind him while he was watching Rex. His hand released its grip of the taser and the taser slid across the floor.

Rex dove to the taser and snatched it.

**ZZZAAAAP**

**ZZAAAP**

The anchovy thrust the taser into Marcus who was running towards him two times and the thug got electrified two times.

**THUD**

Marcus collapsed to the floor and got knocked out.

Ricky grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding the taser and tried to retrieve the taser from Rex.

**GLOK**

Rex kicked Ricky across the chest.

Ricky's hand let go of Rex's wrist and he walked back by one step.

**ZZZZAAAAP**

**ZZZAAAAP**

**ZZZZAAAAPP**

**ZZZAAAAP**

Rex repeatedly electrified Ricky with the taser.

Ricky moaned, fell to the floor, and became unconscious.

Mike was beginning to stand up.

SpongeBob stood up and walked up to Mike.

**BAM**

He swung both of the prosthetic legs and they both hit Mike's back.

Mike fell back to the floor.

Rex walked up to Mike.

**ZZZZAAAAAAPPP**

The anchovy electrified the thug with the taser.

Mike became unconscious.

SpongeBob tried to put his gratitude into a few words. "Thanks for saving me." He smiled widely.

"Meep meep." Rex replied and smiled as well.

S-S-S-S-S

Pearl and Judy had entered their classroom and had dialed 9-1-1 into a shell-phone.

Pearl put the shell-phone near her ear.

An electronic voice was heard.

"Four students in my school are beating up my date for the prom. They won't stop fighting and I think they're gonna kill him." Pearl spoke into the shell-phone and explained the situation.

The electronic voice asked for an address.

Pearl said the address of her school into the phone.

The electronic voice assured the whale that the police will come as soon as possible.

Pearl put down the phone. "They're coming. We just gotta wait." She spoke to Judy.

Pearl and Judy exited the classroom.

S-S-S-S-S

A Cadillac boatmobile parked in front of the back entrance to the gym.

Shawn got out of the car. He was carrying a pistol that was in his pocket. The thug noticed that no one was outside. "What happened?" He thought that the four other thugs were waiting outside the back entrance.

**C-CRRREEEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

He opened the double door and entered the gym.

S-S-S-S-S

Shawn took out the pistol from his pocket.

The people that were in the gym looked at the gun and screamed in terror. They clinged to the walls even more. They were terrified of what Shawn could do with the gun.

Shawn chuckled and walked across the gym floor.

S-S-S-S-S

"What's with the screaming?" SpongeBob was hearing mass hysteria from the gym.

"Meep meep meep." Rex narrowed his eyes and looked through one of the windows of the double door. He saw a thug that was holding a gun. "Meep." He pointed at one side of the double door. "Meep meep." He pointed at another side of the door.

"Roger." SpongeBob made a military salute and walked to one side of the double door.

Rex walked to the other side of the double door and got into a pose where he can easily thrust the taser into Shawn.

A long pause.

**C-CRREEAAK**

**S-SLAM**

Shawn opened the double door and saw the still bodies of the four other thugs. "What the hell?!" He raised his brow.

**B-BAM**

SpongeBob swung the prosthetic legs at Shawn and they hit the thug on the shoulder and back.

Shawn reeled in pain.

**ZZZZZAAAAAPP**

**ZZZAAAAP**

**ZZZZAAAAP**

Rex electrified Shawn with the taser three times.

Shawn collapsed to the floor and became unconscious.

CRREEAAK

A few people from the crowd opened the double door and noticed the five motionless bodies of the thugs. They smiled widely and yelled to the rest of the crowd in excitement.

The crowd in the gym cheered for SpongeBob and Rex.

SpongeBob took a deep breath and relaxed. The battle was finally over.

S-S-S-S-S

Ten minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

Police officers handcuffed the unconscious thugs and brought them to the police cars.

SpongeBob and Pearl were outside the back entrance of the gym. SpongeBob had band-aids on minor cuts he got from Jack's pocket knife after a visit to the nurse's office and held the wig and prosthetic legs in his hands. His valiant efforts to fight the thugs so as to protect him and the people in the prom had paid off.

The police cars drove away to the horizon and the limousine from before parked in front of the two.

SpongeBob and Pearl entered the limousine so they can go home.

S-S-S-S-S

Five minutes later...

S-S-S-S-S

**CRREEAAK**

**SLAM**

SpongeBob entered his pineapple. "Hey, Gary." He greeted the snail.

Gary stopped watching the TV and winced as he saw how SpongeBob looked. "M-meow."


End file.
